The Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control has condemned the non-release of capital funds to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in 2025, describing the development as a grave threat to national security.
In a statement issued in Kaduna on Wednesday, the Executive Director of SODAEC, Barrister Ahmad Musa Umar, said the disclosure emerged from proceedings of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.
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Umar described the situation as “a calculated abandonment of Nigeria’s most critical line of defence against narcotics and insecurity.”
According to him, the NDLEA, despite recording major operational successes, has been left to operate without the capital support required to sustain its activities.
He noted that under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), the agency had continued to announce large-scale seizures of illicit drugs and the destruction of cannabis farms across the country.
“These weekly interdictions show what is possible with commitment and professionalism,” Umar said. “But commitment alone cannot replace funding.”
The SODAEC director expressed concern that an agency serving over 200 million Nigerians currently operates with fewer than 14,000 personnel.
“In some states, commands are operating with as few as three vehicles. That is not just inadequate; it is dangerous,” he added.
Umar argued that the NDLEA plays a broader security role that goes beyond drug seizures, insisting that its mandate overlaps with intelligence, financial tracking and prosecution.
He maintained that the agency deserved funding and welfare provisions comparable to, or even exceeding, those of the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“Drug money fuels banditry and terrorism. It also drives corruption and economic crimes. Strengthening the NDLEA means striking at the root of multiple security threats,” he said.
Umar further alleged that the agency appeared to receive more operational backing from international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, than from domestic authorities.
He called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the non-release of the 2025 capital allocation to the agency.
SODAEC also demanded that the NDLEA be placed on first-line charge to shield it from what it described as “annual budgetary volatility and administrative bottlenecks.”
Beyond federal intervention, the group urged state governors and local government chairmen to take more responsibility in tackling drug abuse and trafficking within their jurisdictions.
“Nigeria cannot fight a 21st-century narco-war with shrinking resources,” Umar said.
“If the NDLEA is central to our security architecture, then statutory and predictable funding is no longer optional; it is urgent.” ENDS.