May 2, 2022

There are very few heads of parastatals and agencies that make Nigerians still believe there is a government in power. Mohammed Buba Marwa, Chairman of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Professor Umar Danbatta who heads the Nigerian telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission are a few of them. There are others.

Appointed as Chairman of NDLEA in January 2021, Marwa, a retired Brig. General, has proven that Nigerians are capable of redeeming Nigeria. Marwa has brought back life to NDLEA. And it shows in the growing buzz of anti-narcotics activities within the agency. The most celebrated case in recent history is the sting operation that exposed top police officers led by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), and one perceived to be a Super Cop. Kyari was head of the IGP-IRT squad, a special team of marksmen set up by a former Inspector General of Police to tackle special crimes including kidnapping which has become a huge enterprise in Nigeria. But for Marwa and his men at the NDLEA nobody would have known that Kyari, the Super Cop, is also Kyari the super dealer.  Two of his accomplices have pleaded guilty to the crimes for which they were charged to court. The case is still active but court depositions by NDLEA said over N4 billion was traced to his account and those of his accomplices.

Nigerians hailed Marwa and his NDLEA. For some, it’s no surprise that things are looking up at the anti-narcotics agency. They attribute that to Marwa. Marwa’s first six months at NDLEA was eventful. Over 2,000 arrests made, over 500 convictions and drugs worth billions of naira seized.

Now, over one year on the job, the former Military Administrator of Lagos State where he announced himself as a development-centric leader has ramped up his game. The stats point to a new lease at the agency.

Between January and March this year, no fewer than 677 traffickers have been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms with a total of 3,359 arrests and 65,915.891 kilograms of assorted drugs seized within the same period.

The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said no fewer than 2,223 drug users were also counselled through brief interventions and rehabilitated in NDLEA facilities across the country in the first quarter of this year. The figures represent a fair balance between the Agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities. In simple terms, it means there is a progressive drop in the drug supply and demand curve.

The stats showed Lagos as having the highest figure of drug seizures with 22,192.62 kilograms of illicit substances recovered from different parts of the state usually during special raids and operations by operatives of the agency. These operations are mostly responses to actionable intelligence from members of the public.

Whether it’s in Mexico, Colombia or Venezuela, anti-narcotics agencies require intelligence to burst any cartel. Such intelligence does not come cheap. They don’t even happen by accident. Intelligence-gathering comes from structured and discreet interface between an agency and the publics. This includes inter-agency relationships. What Marwa has achieved in his early days at the agency was to make the operatives see themselves as citizens of the country with as much stake as any other citizen. This has helped to improve the operatives’ people skills, inter-personal relations and ability to easily relate with members of the public without attracting attention to themselves. This is the hallmark of a smart intelligence officer: the capacity to mix unnoticed with other members of the community. It’s both psychological and sociological: being Roman while in Rome and acting Indian while in India. A smart anti-narcotics operative should be able to blend and bond with users, couriers and suppliers of drugs without giving out his or her identity. This special skill is what Marwa has been able to implant into the rest of us. And the results have been amazing as the stats further revealed.

Next to Lagos drugs haul is the busy Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Command, Ikeja, also in Lagos, where 8,979.869kg of drugs were seized between January and March.

Up north, where there is pervasive use of all sorts of drugs among the youths, Kano and Kaduna lead the chart in the arrests of offenders with 194 arrests each within the same period. The stats also tallied with what is rife in the public domain, that is, that parts of the south-south and south west are notorious for growing cannabis (aka marijuana).

Growing cannabis is common in southern Nigeria especially in the south-south and south west. NDLEA stats showed that a total of 257 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed in Ondo state while 14.869 hectares were destroyed in Edo.

Drugs type analysis of the seizures in the first quarter of this year shows Cannabis leading the table in January with 8,205.75kg; followed by Codeine (414.281kg); Diazepam (192.459kg), Tramadol (135.067kg); Rophynol (43.062kg) and Cocaine (24.32kg). In February, Cannabis also topped the list of seizures again with 20,538.79kg; Codeine (1,848.052kg); Tramadol (540.354kg), Diazepam (137.041kg), Rophynol (80.261kg), cocaine (15.727kg), Methamphetamine (6.207kg) and Heroin (4.006kg).

In March, cannabis continued to top the list of seizures with 21,583.81kg, followed by Tramadol (8,965.319kg), codeine (417.207kg), Diazepam (57.755kg), cocaine (45.082kg), Methamphetamine –(7.527kg), Rophynol (6.34kg) and Heroin (1.497kg).

All the seized drugs, reflective of the common drugs available in Nigeria, have hallucinogenic effect on their uses. When taken in high doses, they make the user get ‘high’, a euphemism for momentary fit of fantasy. The user assumes a false sense of invincibility because his or her natural sense of thinking has been altered. This is why there is a connect between abuse of drugs and insecurity. Any persons under the influence of drugs can easily take to crime not only because their altered state of mind makes them foolishly bold, they also take to crime to steal money to sustain their expensive lifestyle. At the level of addiction, nobody stands in their way particularly when they get to the level of ‘Jonesing’: extreme craving for some drugs to stabilize the body. A ‘jonesing’ drug addict is prone to many vices including murder, kidnapping among others.

Through a particular airliner, dangerous drugs especially cocaine and heroine have found their way into the country. Some have come through land borders and sea ports. Investigations have shown that some of these drugs are supplied to Boko Haram terrorists across the country. Little wonder they have become so emboldened and dangerous. The killer machine called Boko Haram obviously has no intention of ending the attack on Nigeria and Nigerians because their ego and their vicious mindset are fed fat by the capitulation of those who breed or bring in hard drugs into the country.

As the NDLEA continues to expose the drug kingpins in Nigeria, it is imperative to counsel Marwa: You have captured the couriers and errand boys in the underworld drug trade, now is the time to go after the big boys and big mamas including operatives of the NDLEA who are themselves errand boys to the barons.. Unearth them, name them and shame them.

Over all, in just barely one year in office, it’s safe to say that Marwa has come to judgement.

Author: KEN UGBECHIE