ABUJA, Nigeria — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized over 15 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit substances and secured more than 15,000 convictions between January 2021 and May 2026, alongside more than 80,000 arrests over the same period.
Okay News reports that Director of Media and Advocacy Femi Babafemi disclosed the figures in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Abuja, describing the outcomes as reflecting the agency’s intensified campaign against drug trafficking and abuse under NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa since January 2021.
“In the last 65 months, NDLEA recorded more than 80,000 arrests, seized over 15 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit substances and secured more than 15,000 convictions,” Babafemi said.
Babafemi explained that the agency’s operational model is anchored on proactive intelligence gathering and global collaboration rather than reactive enforcement. “We try not to be reactive; we want to be proactive. Our operations are 100 per cent intelligence-led. We monitor drug trafficking trends across the globe and partner with leading drug enforcement and security agencies worldwide. That has enabled us to be well-positioned and remain steps ahead of drug trafficking syndicates,” he said.
He added that the agency’s strategy is to disrupt drug networks before substances reach communities. “We will rather take the battle to the traffickers at their doorstep than wait for illicit consignments to be distributed. It is better to stop them before they find their way into our streets and communities than begin mopping them up after distribution,” Babafemi said.
The agency carried out more than 14,000 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities nationwide during the period, with over 50,000 people receiving counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation services through NDLEA’s 30 rehabilitation centres across the country.
The NDLEA auctioned four forfeited properties belonging to convicted traffickers for a combined N6.15 billion (approximately $4 million) on Monday, June 15, 2026, including a six-floor hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, which accounted for N5.9 billion (approximately $3.8 million) of the total.
In April 2026, operatives raided three drug warehouses in Lagos, recovering opioids valued at N16.9 billion (approximately $11 million) in one of the agency’s largest recent interceptions. A month earlier, the NDLEA arrested three persons living with disabilities for alleged trafficking across Anambra and Kwara states, while also uncovering 2,326 kilogrammes of cannabis worth over N5.8 billion (approximately $3.8 million) in Lagos.
