President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term, extending his leadership of the anti-narcotics agency until 2031.
The announcement was contained in a statement released on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
President Tinubu described Marwa’s reappointment as a reaffirmation of his administration’s confidence in his commitment to fighting drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.
“Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse,” the President said. “I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”
Marwa, first appointed in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, has led what many consider one of the most impactful reform eras in NDLEA’s history.
His tenure has been marked by intensified operations that have resulted in the arrest of over 73,000 drug traffickers and barons, and the seizure of more than 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances across the country.
A seasoned military officer and administrator, Marwa previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020.
His public service career includes stints as military governor of Lagos and Borno States, as well as roles in key military and diplomatic positions.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973 after training at the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Marwa rose through the ranks, serving as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, and academic registrar of the NDA.
Internationally, he served as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and later as Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa also holds advanced degrees in governance and public administration—a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
With this reappointment, observers say the Tinubu administration is signaling continuity in the nation’s anti-drug war, especially at a time when drug proliferation and cross-border trafficking remain a significant national security concern.