The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nasarawa State Command, says it arrested 650 suspects for drug-related offences and seized 6,633.667 kilogrammes of illicit substances between July 2024 and June 2025.
The State Commander, Mr. Dachi Elisha-David, disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia during the grand finale of the 2025 UN International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
He attributed the feat to the renewed approach to the fight against drugs, championed by the Chairman of NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Marwa.
According to the Elisha-David, the arrested suspects comprised 632 males and 18 females, while the seized illicit drugs and psychotropic substances included Cannabis Sativa, Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Diazepam.
Others were Tramadol, Rohypnol, Pentazocine injection, and Codeine.
Convictions and legal action
The commander revealed that the agency secured the conviction of 105 drug traffickers and filed 70 charges in court within the review period.
In the area of drug demand reduction, he said that the command through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign reached a total of 90,943 persons across schools, motor parks, communities and workplaces in the state.
Challenges hampering operations
Despite these achievements, he pointed out several operational challenges facing the NDLEA in the state, including a lack of operational vehicles and other logistics, and a paucity of funds to procure credible intelligence on the activities of drug dealers from confidential informants.
“Lack of willingness from the public to volunteer information on the nefarious activities of drug dealers in their midst is bad enough.
“More troubling are the youth in some of these communities who fight our operatives on raid operations that are targeted at drug dealers. This has been a concern to the command,” he said.
He said the theme of the 2025 commemoration,” The Evidence is Clear; Invest in Prevention”, was instructive as it conforms with the ideal notion of the UN framework to prioritise prevention, treatment and rehabilitation as against punishment and incarceration.
He thanked Gov. Abdullahi Sule, his wife, traditional institutions and other stakeholders in Nasarawa for their support to the agency in the fight against drugs in the state and urged for its sustenance.
He also appreciated the NDLEA boss, Marwa, and personnel of the agency for their commitment to fighting the menace of drugs in Nigeria.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that from June 2024 to May 2025, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Akwa Ibom State arrested 312 drug-related suspects, comprising 261 males and 51 females. During the same period, the agency seized 803.672 kilogrammes of hard drugs.
According to NDLEA officials, 38 drug offenders were successfully prosecuted and convicted. Additionally, 43 male drug users underwent rehabilitation, while 179 individuals received counselling.
The agency also conducted drug addiction prevention programmes across 91 locations within the state, demonstrating its commitment to reducing demand as well as supply.
