Marwa Orders NDLEA to Dismantle Financial Networks Behind Drug Cartels

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), has directed investigators and prosecutors to intensify efforts to trace, seize and recover the financial assets and proceeds of drug trafficking, warning that arrests and drug seizures alone will not defeat sophisticated narcotics cartels.

Marwa gave the directive on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in Abuja while declaring open an advanced capacity-building programme on financial investigations, asset tracing, forfeiture and recovery of proceeds and instrumentalities of narcotics trafficking and related organised crime.

The NDLEA chairman said drug trafficking should be treated fundamentally as an economic enterprise sustained by financiers, facilitators, money launderers and professional enablers operating behind drug shipments.

He said the Agency must therefore move beyond arresting couriers and seizing narcotics to dismantling the financial structures that sustain criminal enterprises.

“If we arrest the courier but leave the financier untouched, seize the drugs but allow the proceeds to remain with the criminal enterprise, or secure a conviction without recovering the illicit wealth, we have addressed only part of the problem,” Marwa said.

According to him, organised criminal groups are increasingly exploiting technology, cryptocurrencies, complex corporate structures and legitimate businesses to conceal the ownership and origin of illicit wealth.

He said NDLEA investigators and prosecutors must consequently develop the capacity to analyse complex financial transactions, trace assets across jurisdictions, establish beneficial ownership, exploit digital evidence and build cases capable of supporting forfeiture and recovery.

Marwa said the Agency’s next priority, following significant progress in narcotics seizures and prosecution of traffickers, must be to dismantle the economic foundations of the drug trade and make trafficking a high-risk, low-profit enterprise.

“The sophistication of organised crime demands a corresponding sophistication in our response. We must move from crime detection to crime disruption; from arresting offenders to dismantling criminal enterprises; and from confiscating drugs to depriving traffickers of the wealth that motivates and sustains their activities,” he said.

He noted that drug trafficking intersects with money laundering, corruption, cybercrime, human trafficking, illicit arms trafficking and other forms of organised crime, making sustained cooperation among law enforcement institutions essential.

Marwa also called for stronger coordination among NDLEA directorates responsible for intelligence, investigation, prosecution, forensics, asset investigation and financial investigation.

He described the various units as interconnected links in a single enforcement chain and urged them to work as one Agency rather than in isolation.

The NDLEA boss also stressed the importance of inter-agency collaboration, saying no single institution possesses all the information, expertise and capacity required to dismantle sophisticated criminal networks.

Representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and judges of the Federal High Court participated in the programme.

Marwa said their participation would strengthen the connection between investigation, prosecution and adjudication in the fight against organised crime.

He also warned that asset recovery should not end with seizure or forfeiture, stressing that poor management and lack of transparency could diminish the value of recovered assets and undermine public confidence.

He therefore urged the Agency to ensure accountability and transparency from the point of seizure through forfeiture, management and eventual realisation of recovered assets.

The NDLEA chairman charged participants to treat the programme as more than a routine training, urging them to share knowledge across directorates and translate it into coordinated enforcement action.

He expressed confidence that the training would equip officers with stronger capabilities to “follow the money,” identify hidden assets, strengthen evidence, secure forfeiture and preserve the value of recovered assets.

CJ Tsoho Commends NDLEA, Seeks Stronger Judicial Collaboration

In a goodwill message delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, commended Marwa for what he described as the strides recorded by the NDLEA under his leadership.

Tsoho said stronger collaboration between the Federal High Court, NDLEA and other law enforcement agencies would enhance Nigeria’s standing in the international law enforcement community.

He described the training as timely, particularly given the growing complexity of financial investigations, asset tracing, recovery and management of proceeds linked to narcotics trafficking and related crimes, including cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering.

The Chief Judge said the expanding frontiers of drug-related crimes required equally sophisticated responses from law enforcement and judicial institutions.

He further commended Marwa for his leadership of the NDLEA and expressed the belief that sustained cooperation between the judiciary and law enforcement agencies would strengthen Nigeria’s response to organised crime and improve the country’s international standing.