Budget Defence: House Committee Promises Improved Funding for NDLEA to Contain Drug Cartels

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

 The House of Representatives’ committee on drugs and narcotics yesterday has promised to increase the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) 2023 budget estimate to enable it perform optimally.

The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Francis Agbo stated when the Executive Chairman of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd) appeared before it for the agency’s budget defence.

Agbo, who noted that the NDLEA was understaffed, reiterated that the agency needs adequate funding to enable it build its barracks for the safety of its staff considering the risk involved in fighting drug cartels, adding that the arms being used by NDLEA needed to be replaced because they are obsolete.

When i visited the agency’s headquarters i could not find a single sniffer dog which ought not to be considering the nature of the job,” he said.

Marwa in his response said adequate funding and increase of personnel to 15,000 was required for the agency to carry out its mandate effectively.

“A sniffer dog cost about $15,000 to $20,000 dollar each, arms and ammunition are very critical component for the agency. We have worked closely with the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defence Staff and the Defence Ministry. They have provided us with more arms. We need more equipped arms to match these drug cartels”

Consequently, Marwa revealed that drug barons were assassinating operatives of the agency in the renewed fight against drug abuse in Nigeria.

While stressing the urgent need for the provision of barracks for operatives of the Agency he noted that, “The barracks issue is very critical to us because as we all know the NDLEA is very aggressive now against drug traffickers and the drug barons and when you arrest and prosecute them and send them to jail, they are not happy. “So they come after our personnel and with our personnel living in the town and cities and among them, we have been recording casualties and assassnations against them.”

According to him, “the agency is in the process of building a barrack for NDLEA personnel for the first time. And also in the process of building three rehab centres, two forensic laboratories and purchasing of security equipment.

“The agency has concluded the acquisition of land in Adamawa, Abuja and Lagos for the barracks and the Private Public Partnership process is rounding off,” he added.

Marwa revealed that N24 billion was allocated to the barracks project in the 2022 budget, adding that it was however slashed to N13 billion in the 2023 budget proposal, thereby calling for additional N10 billion for the projects.

He further stated that, “We pray for more money for the barrack, because N13 billion would probably build half a barracks, but if we are able to achieve another N10 billion or more on this barrack, then we would be able to add three more of the geopolitical zones for us to complete six. Hopefully as the years go by and we have other chairman, the struggle for barracks would continue.”

Furthermore, Marwa revealed that from January 2021, the agency has arrested over 19, 000 persons, adding that 28 drug barons had also been arrested and were being prosecuted.

Marwa however stated that the agency recorded the largest seizure ever of pure cocaine in 2022.