President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured that Nigeria stands firmly with the global community in the effort to tame the scourge of drug abuse and its consequences.
The President gave the assurance while delivering a keynote address during the concluding event of a weeklong program celebrating the 2025 World Drug Day, held at the Presidential Villa Conference Centre in Abuja on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
The President stressed that the nation will not ignore the root causes of the crisis, noting that drug abuse is deeply connected to poverty, inequality, violence, and conflict.
“We are committed to working hand in hand with all nations to end this menace and tame illicit trafficking of substances.
Together, we can dismantle the systems that sustain this crisis. Together, we can build a future where prevention is strong, treatment is accessible, and recovery is not just possible—but celebrated.
There is no doubt that in the past two years, this has been the focus of the renewed hope agenda of our administration; breaking the burden of poverty, uplifting millions out of squalor and caring for the needs of the masses especially our youth population through student loans scheme and other empowerment initiatives.”
President Tinubu also urged for comprehensive approach to strengthen the Fight against illicit drugs, declaring that combating substance abuse and illegal drug trafficking in Nigeria should be a collective national effort involving all citizens and not just the government.
He added that to effectively tackle this challenge, a comprehensive approach is necessary, one that promotes peace and supports inclusive development.
“Let us also be clear: this fight is not one for governments alone. It must be a national movement—driven by families, faith leaders, civil society organisations, youth groups, community leaders, businesses, and, crucially, people with lived experience. Their voices matter.
“Their stories inspire. Their leadership is essential.
“At the same time, we must not ignore the deeper roots of this crisis. Drug abuse is tied to poverty, inequality, violence and conflict.
“To effectively tackle this problem, our approach must be comprehensive. We must foster peace. We must promote inclusive development.
And we must uphold human rights every step of the way”, the president who was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume declared.
While commending the efforts of the NDLEA , “the leadership headed by Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), for their globally acclaimed successes not only in the area of drug supply reduction but equally in drug demand reduction through aggressive nationwide sensitization aimed at prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of treated drug users back into their families and the society”,
“the great efforts of the NDLEA, its personnel and the leadership headed by Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) for their globally acclaimed successes not only in the area of drug supply reduction but equally in drug demand reduction through aggressive nationwide sensitization aimed at prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of treated drug users back into their families and the society”.
President Tinubu highlighted that these efforts have garnered praise from international partners and Western countries, leading to increased support and cooperation with Nigeria in the worldwide fight against substance abuse and illegal drug trafficking.
In his welcome remark at the occasion, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that there is no better time than now for the country to take drug use prevention seriously.
According to him, “the reality around us is a strong indication and a wake-up call for us as parents, guardians and governments to step up preventive measures.
“For our nation, prevention is particularly critical, as we are already grappling with a serious challenge. Seven years ago, we came to the stark realisation that Nigeria had one of the highest drug abuse prevalence rates in the world.
Today, with a population exceeding 230 million, it is both urgent and pragmatic to prevent new individuals from being drawn into the population of drug users.
As parents, guardians, and leaders, we must be more vigilant and recognise that the issue of drug abuse is not distant—it is close to home. We must acknowledge that children are especially vulnerable, and we should not dismiss experimentation with illicit drugs as behaviour limited to a particular demographic.”
He said the NDLEA has continued to strengthen prevention strategies while being ferocious in its drug supply reduction activities, adding that addressing the socio-economic drivers of drug abuse is also crucial, as a prevention strategy.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is providing leverage to tackle such critical factors as poverty and unemployment. Initiatives like NELFUND, which offers student loans, and programmes like the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT), which improve technical skills required for digital economy employability, along with improved national security, will reduce the factors that increase the likelihood of drug abuse.”
“In the final analysis, however, much responsibility rests on parenting. So, we should be looking at how to empower those invested with the role of parenting. Through our War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign, we work with parents, teachers and leaders in communities, institutions and associations to spread awareness and teach how to safeguard younger generations. Our family support advocacy emphasises that children don’t just need money—they need the presence and voice of their parents and guardians. Parents must ask questions, dig deeper, and instill values.
“Teachers also play a crucial role. They are deeply influential in shaping character and instilling values during the school years.
The national curriculum now includes topics on drug abuse, and teachers are in a prime position to guide and protect young minds.
“Our advocacy efforts under the WADA campaign continue to gain momentum. Every week, across Nigeria, our 36 state commands with the FCT and 14 zonal commands engage in WADA outreach—raising awareness in schools, offices, religious centres, communities, motor parks and markets. We educate the public about the dangers of drug abuse and how to escape its grip.
In recent years, many non-governmental organisations have joined NDLEA in partnership to broaden the reach of WADA advocacy.
As a result, we have organised 11, 123 sensitisation programmes in schools, work places, worship centres, markets, motor parks and communities, while millions have been reached through our various robust weekly media engagements.
This is in addition to thousands more who have benefited from the psycho-social support services provided through our 24/7 Call Centre on our toll-free helpline- 080010203040.
“At the same time, we have ramped up treatment and rehabilitation efforts, with 30 centres currently active, where we have in the past 53 months counselled and rehabilitated 26,393 persons. Thanks to the support of Mr. President, seven new rehabilitation centres have now been approved and will be developed under the current year’s budget.That will broaden access to treatment.”
He noted that prevention efforts will amount to little if access to illicit drugs remains open and easy.
“Put simply, while we work strategically to prevent individuals from initiating drug use, we must simultaneously shut down the pipeline through which these harmful substances are distributed.
We must remove traffickers from the equation. This is a task we have continued to pursue diligently, deploying every resource at our disposal.
“Over the past four and a half years, we have arrested 66,085 offenders—including 94 identified drug barons. Our Operation Offensive Action has yielded tangible results, including the seizure of 11,143,717.44kg assorted illicit drugs with life sentences now being secured in court while a total of 12,201 offenders have bagged various jail terms within the same time frame.”
He expressed gratitude to the individuals and institutions that have shown determination and resolve in helping to stem the tide of drug abuse in Nigeria.
Olusola Akintonde