The failure to release capital funding to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in 2025 has been denounced by the Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control, which has called the situation a serious national security concern.
The information came from the National Assembly Joint Committee on Drugs and Narcotics’ proceedings, according to a statement released in Kaduna on Wednesday by Ahmad Umar, the Executive Director of SODAEC.
The scenario is “a deliberate abandonment of Nigeria’s most critical line of defense against narcotics and insecurity,” according to Umar.
He claims that the NDLEA has been left to function without the financial backing necessary to maintain its operations, even though it has achieved significant operational victories.
He pointed out that under Mohammed Marwa’s direction, the organization has kept announcing widespread narcotics seizures and the devastation of cannabis farms around the nation.
“These weekly interdictions demonstrate the potential of dedication and professionalism.” However, Umar stated that funding cannot be replaced by devotion alone.
The fact that SODAEC, which serves more than 200 million Nigerians, now employs less than 14,000 people worried the agency’s head.
Commands are using as little as three cars in some jurisdictions. Not only is that insufficient, but it is also harmful,” he continued.
Umar maintained that the NDLEA’s mandate encompasses intelligence collection, financial tracking, and prosecution, and that it has a wider security role than only drug seizures.
In his view, the agency should have the same level of financing and welfare benefits as the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, if not more.
“Terrorism and banditry are fueled by drug money. It also fuels economic crimes and corruption. By addressing the underlying causes of various security risks, the NDLEA may be strengthened, he stated.
Umar further claimed that foreign partners, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, seemed to provide the agency with more operational support than domestic authorities.
He demanded an urgent inquiry into the reasons behind the agency’s 2025 capital allocation not being made public.
Additionally, SODAEC called for the NDLEA to be put on first-line charge in order to protect it from “annual budgetary volatility and administrative bottlenecks.”
In addition to federal action, the organization called on state governors and chairmen of municipal governments to assume more accountability for combating drug abuse and trafficking in their respective domains.
Nigeria’s resources are insufficient to fight a narco-war in the twenty-first century. It is vital to provide statutory and consistent funding if the NDLEA is a key component of our security architecture, Umar continued.
