President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially renewed the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
Marwa, who was first appointed to the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to December 2020. His reappointment means the Adamawa-born former military officer will now remain at the helm of the NDLEA until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Following his commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in 1973, he held several key military and diplomatic positions, including Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the then Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, Academic Registrar of the NDA, Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and Defence Adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa is academically distinguished, holding a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (1983–1985) and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University (1985–1986).
During his tenure at the NDLEA, Marwa has overseen significant achievements in the fight against drug trafficking in Nigeria. Under his leadership, the agency has arrested approximately 73,000 drug mules and barons and seized over 15 million kilogrammes of various hard drugs. Nationwide campaigns to curb drug abuse have also been launched across states under his watch.
Commenting on the reappointment, President Tinubu said, “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse. I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”
Okay News reports that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the reappointment in a statement released on Thursday, November 14, 2025, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to strengthening the fight against illicit drugs in Nigeria.
