NDLEA Officers Get Cash Rewards As 3.3 Million Kilograms Of Drugs Seized In 11 Months

No fewer than twenty-five officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been rewarded with cash, plaques and commendation letters for their outstanding performance in the agency’s anti-narcotic fight.

The officers and some state commands of the NDLEA received the prizes at a meeting of the agency’s chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), with directors, zonal commanders, state, and special area commanders of the agency.

They were specifically commended for their efforts in helping the NDLEA reduce drug supply and demand as well as prosecution of drug-related cases in the last quarter of 2021.

In his remarks, Marwa tasked his men to make it more difficult for drug barons, traffickers and cartels to operate in Nigeria in the new year.

A statement by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said Marwa noted some of the key achievements of the NDLEA in the area of drugs supply reduction to include the mopping up of 3.3 million kilograms of assorted drugs, 11, 340 arrests and 1,111 convictions in the last 11 months.

He said the drug demand reduction efforts saw the counselling and rehabilitation of 7,066 offenders.

Marwa’s wards: “This Awards and Commendations ceremony is an attestation that the leadership of NDLEA is keeping its side of the bargain, to wit, to motivate the NDLEA workforce as a means of getting the Agency out of the rut in which it was stuck for years. It was to this end that we instituted, among other measures, the Bimonthly Best Performing Command Award, which after two editions was transformed into the Quarterly Awards. The transmutation notwithstanding, the objective remains to reward individual hard work and diligence of officers and to appreciate the collective effort of commands.

“It cannot be gainsaid that the awards have not been successful. From all indications, our reward scheme has galvanized the NDLEA workforce as evidenced by our daily and weekly performance, which attracts national and international accolades. Just three weeks ago, at the ICPC 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in Nigeria, held on November 30, 2021, our officer was one of three distinguished Nigerians honoured by the President with the 2021 Public Service Integrity Award. That speaks volumes about the renewed work ethics within the Agency. With a sense of modesty, he deserves a pat on the back for the good work that earned him the national award.

“As for those hurdles that were the sources of stagnation and disenchantment, the leadership of NDLEA has dismantled most, if not all of them. We have made a case for a new salary structure; we have harmonised our rank structure and stagnated ranks through the promotion of 3,506 officers and men; we have rejigged our welfare scheme and now have a functional insurance scheme; we paid burial entitlements to the families of officers lost in the line of duty. We have practically doubled our strength in term of personnel in one year. We will be having barracks in the new year. Thanks to Mr. President. A whole lot of reforms are ongoing. We have not taken our hands off the plough. The management is working to cover lost grounds and restore the Agencys parity with other similar government apparatus.”

While congratulating the awardees, Marwa urged his men to not “trample upon discipline according to our creed; do not compromise your loyalty to the ideals and ethos of the Agency, and finally, constantly rededicate yourself to duty and attainment of organisational goals.”

He said, “We are doing our utmost to win this war against drug abuse and trafficking of illicit substances, both from a policy perspective (such as the launch of the National Drug Control Master Plan, NDCMP 2021-2025) and from a tactical perspective (like the gradual takeoff of War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, across the 36 states). The onus is now on us to ensure that our performance will not become a flash in the pan.

“This awards ceremony should imbue us with the nous to sustain the momentum and the upward swing. This is my charge to the entire NDLEA workforce: We must in good conscience continue to justify the enormous energy we have invested this year in turning around the fortunes of the Agency. To the entire NDLEA workforce, I can assure you that we can look ahead into the future without anxiety. We should be confident that better days are here. However, we need to constantly remind ourselves that our performance is the catalyst that will hasten our journey to a drug free Nigeria.”