Eight NDLEA Officers Get Special Promotion for Act of Bravery

. Four officers injured as  youths attack NDLEA  in Bayelsa

Michael Olugbode in Abuja and Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Special promotions have been given by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) to eight officers for bravery in the discharge of their duty.

The promoted officers are of the Marine Command of the agency and the honour was given to them for their brave and professional conduct during a recent operation to arrest drug traffickers and interdict canoes and boats moving illicit drugs from Ghana to Nigeria through the Lagos waterways.

However, four officials of the NDLEA, who stormed Oruma Community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in search of drug peddlers,  were said to have  been attacked and critically injured by irate youths in community.

Speaking at a brief ceremony to decorate the eight officers with their new ranks and also hand them commendation letters in Abuja yesterday, Marwa said: “Every time we have a breakthrough, it tells the world a story about the new NDLEA we are working hard to build. 

It also reinforces our conviction as an organisation that we are on the right track. 

So, an occasion such as this is a source of pride for me.”

Marwa, while justifying the essence of the special promotion and commendation, said: “In this case, we have officers who exhibited bravery and an unwavering sense of duty in the face of adversity on the waterways to thwart an attempt by a criminal gang to smuggle 60 jumbo bags of illicit drugs from a neighbouring country.

“Despite obvious attempts to thwart our interdiction bid, our officers were resilient and prevailed over the situation. It is in recognition of their gallantry that they are given special promotion and we are holding this ceremony to decorate them.

“This is keeping with our culture of rewarding hard work, results and sacrifice.”

He further said the reward scheme is also part of the sweeping reforms he instituted in the past three years to motivate officers to raise their performance level.

Marwa said: “Under this scheme, we have instituted the bi-annual Command Awards and Commendation as well as special promotion for deserving officers, among other measures. I must say that the eight officers I will be decorating shortly showed bravery and dedication to duty and are deserving of a reward.”

Recapping the details of the particular operation that led to the promotion, Marwa said: “On the 23rd of August 2024, the Special Marine Squad received actionable intelligence at 3.00am. They immediately swung into action and intercepted a boat along Alfa beach, in Lekki, Lagos. Another boat was equally sighted.

“They, however, faced some unfavourable encounter in the process of intercepting the second boat, but in the face of violent provocation, our officers did not lose focus, as they went ahead to recover the exhibits.

“They were able to seize 60 bags of Ghanaian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 2, 400 kgs. They successfully arrested a suspect, Hambo Tete, 30, who is Ghanaian and impounded the exhibit boat powered by three outboard engines.

“The action of these officers in the night was significant for two reasons. First, it is an affirmation that we have been successful at making the normal trafficking routes through the airport and land borders impenetrable. Hence, traffickers seeking alternative routes are trying to turn to the waterways.

“The second significance is that such traffickers will meet their Waterloo even on the waterways because of the presence of our Marine Command.

“Those who have been following the development in NDLEA are aware that we now have a full-fledged Marine Command with well-trained divers.

“In the recent past months, we have been reinforcing the Command with equipment and training for which we are grateful to the UK Home Office International Operations. What this crop of officers did is a loud statement to trafficking organisations that NDLEA will continue to work with other security agencies and stakeholders to ensure that our waterways are not safe routes for drug traffickers just as the airports, seaports and land borders.”

Addressing the promoted officers and their colleagues across all commands and formations, Marwa charged them on the need “to sustain the momentum of our trajectory and also protect the integrity of our job. That entails that we should be mindful of our actions and activities in the line of duty or off duty.”

He said: “I expect them and every officer not to rest on their oars. There is so much work to do out there, and there are dangers involved. As long as we conduct our operations in line with established SOPs, as these officers did, and as long as we don’t compromise our mandate, we shall always prevail, without casualty and without erring in our action.”

The promoted officers are: Dick Aaron Dick; Alabi Mayowa; Gabriel Ubokikwan; Aso Daniel John; Abdul Emmanuel Sule; Ngabolo Victor Sonpano; Jonah Emmanuel Sule and Membe Timipa Gabriel.

Speaking on behalf of the promoted officers, the team leader Aaron Dick expressed gratitude to the NDLEA boss for transforming the agency to an efficient and result-oriented organisation through purposeful and exemplary leadership.

He said the special promotion and commendation will not only motivate him and his colleagues to do more but will equally inspire other personnel of the Agency to be exceptional in the discharge of their duties.

Meanwhile, four officials of the agency were attacked and critically injured by irate youths in  Bayelsa community.

Four of the officials are currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The pandemonium which led to a near-death situation occurred in the community in Ogbia, the home local government area of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, when men of NDLEA stormed the community with the intention to arrest drug peddlers.

NDLEA spokesman in the state, Mr. Daniel Obah, who confirmed this to newsmen in Yenagoa said four of its men who were critically injured are still in the hospital receiving treatments.

He said the men of the command went for a routine operation to arrest some drug peddlers, when some youths came after them, leaving four personnel critically injured, stating that the affected personnel are still in the hospital, while three with minor injuries have already been discharged.

He stated that the operational vehicle used by the operatives was also vandalised by the youths suspected to be accomplishes of the drug peddlers.

It was gathered that youths of the community tried to resist the arrest, a situation that led to a clash with men of the law enforcement agency leading to the attack and vandalism of their operational vehicles.

Community source said that the men of NDLEA stormed the area on Wednesday evening to arrest some locals who the drug enforcement body alleged to be involved in drug related activities.

According to him, while they were trying to arrest the accused, the youths resisted and immediately the NDLEA personnel opened fire which led to injury of four persons in the community who are currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Yenagoa, the state capital.

He said the NDLEA has refused to allow anyone from the community to visit the victims in the hospital thereby threatening to arrest anyone from Oruma Community who tries to visit.

Youth President of Oruma Community, Mr. Joshua Inebika-emi, said the youths in the community only requested to know why the accused was arrested without any form of notice from the community leaders.

He said four of his youths were critically injured and place on arrest, while the law enforcement body took them to Yenagoa for treatment in a hospital, without allowing their relatives to visit them.

He explained that Oruma community has over the years condemned drug dealers that there is law in the community not allowing anyone to smoke not to talk of hard drugs describing the act as unprofessional and barbaric.

Mr. Inebika-emi called on the state commander NDLEA and the Bayelsa State Government to intervene, saying that they would not want to take laws into their hands because Oruma represents peace.