Group Vows To Expose Top Govt Official Plotting To Blackmail NDLEA Chairman Marwa, Derail Drug War

Civil rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has vowed to expose a top government official, with a sinister plot to derail the gains of the leadership of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

The group revealed this during a press conference on Thursday, in Abuja.

The group said, it “stumbled on an evil plan by a highly placed member of the government who is at the moment forum shopping for any dirt to blackmail the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd).”

Such a plot, HURIWA noted, is targeted at frustrating the ongoing fight against the menace of illicit drugs in Nigeria.

According to HURIWA, to achieve the set aim, the official has planned to blackmail and tarnish the image of Marwa by any means and at all costs before President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Republic, “who have shown interest and trust in the capacity of the NDLEA boss to deliver on his given assignment.”

HURIWA said in view of the performance of the NDLEA boss, it deemed it necessary to alert the president and Nigerians of the development, while also vowing to expose the identity of the government official behind such a plot in due course.

The group directly advised the unarmed government official; “If you’re given a sensitive national assignment to do, please get busy with that and let the president and Nigerians see the results. That way, you won’t be feeling threatened of losing your job to another person because of the president’s consistent insistence of relieving non-performers.

“We will resist attempts to use the privilege and resources of your office to engage in forum shopping for things to tarnish the image of those busy doing their given assignments. And when they cannot find any, then they resort to manufacturing lies to blackmail.”

Speaking at the briefing, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said the group remains committed to supporting government officials and institutions, in doing the right thing, but will not hesitate to expose those who abandon their given responsibilities to chasing shadows.

According to Onwubiko, “We have to draw attention to this evil plot early enough before things degenerate as lives are being targeted by officials of the same government out of hatred for one another.

“We have seen this happen in the past in our political history and we cannot keep our mouths sealed when quislings are trying to hide under an official cloak to return our country to those dark eras.”

The group further highlighted the achievements of the NDLEA to include the seizures of not less than 6,668,965.17kg (6,668 tons) of illicit drugs from January 2021 to September 2023 and the arrest of 36, 096 drug traffickers, including 40 barons within the period under review.

The group also added that the agency secured 6,043 convictions in 33 months while a total of 27,432 clients have been counselled and rehabilitated within this period.

“The breakdown of the agency’s activities from January to September 2023, showed that it seized over N25bn.

“With these formidable landmarks, how does anyone who values the government of President Bola Tinubu be seen actively attempting to undermine this vicious drug war mounted by NDLEA with the buy-in of the President who himself wants a drug-free Nigeria?,” the group said.