Zero Capital Release for NDLEA Threatens Nigeria’s Security — Group

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s 2025 capital funding non-release has been denounced by the Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control, which has called the situation a serious national security risk.

Ahmad Umar, the Executive Director of SODAEC, said in a statement released in Kaduna on Wednesday that the revelation resulted from conversations held by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.

The scenario was characterized by Umar as “a deliberate abandonment of Nigeria’s most important line of defense against narcotics and insecurity.”

Even though the NDLEA has achieved significant operational victories, he claims that it has been left to function without the financial backing needed to continue its operations.
He said the agency has been announcing widespread seizures of illegal substances and the demolition of cannabis fields nationwide under Mohammed Marwa’s leadership.

“With dedication and professionalism, these weekly interdictions demonstrate what is achievable.” But money cannot be replaced by devotion alone, Umar stated.

The fact that an organization that serves more than 200 million Nigerians now employs less than 14,000 people alarmed the SODAEC director.
Commands are using as little as three cars to operate in certain states. That is not just insufficient, but also harmful,” he continued.
Umar maintained that the NDLEA’s mandate encompasses intelligence collection, financial tracking, and prosecution, arguing that the agency’s duty extends beyond narcotics seizures.

He insisted that the economic and financial crimes commission and the Department of State Services should have equal or even greater resources and welfare provisions than the agency.

Banditry and terrorism are fueled by drug money. Additionally, it fuels economic crimes and corruption. He stated that addressing the underlying causes of various security risks is essential to fortifying the NDLEA.

Umar further said that foreign partners, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, seemed to provide the agency with more operational support than local authorities.

He demanded that the reasons why the agency’s 2025 capital allocation was not made public be looked into right now.

The NDLEA should be put on first-line charge, according to SODAEC, in order to protect it from “annual budgetary volatility and administrative bottlenecks.”

The group called on state governors and local government chairmen to handle drug misuse and trafficking in their domains more responsibly, in addition to federal assistance.

With its resources running low, Nigeria cannot wage a narco-war in the twenty-first century. Funding that is statutory and predictable is urgently needed if the NDLEA is a key component of our security architecture, Umar continued.