President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reappointed 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 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. The reappointment ensures that the Adamawa-born former military officer will continue to lead the NDLEA until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). After his commissioning as a second lieutenant in 1973, he held several key positions, including Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, and Academic Registrar of the NDA. He also served in diplomatic military roles as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and as Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa holds two postgraduate degrees: 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, including the arrests of over 73,000 drug mules and barons and the seizure of more than 15 million kilograms of illicit drugs. His leadership has also driven nationwide campaigns to combat drug abuse.
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.”
