President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years.
Marwa, who was first appointed in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now remain in office until 2031. Before his appointment, he chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020.
A retired senior military officer and former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, his military career included roles as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, academic registrar of the NDA, and Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington, DC, as well as at the country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
He holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
Since taking charge of the NDLEA, Marwa has overseen a series of high-impact operations, including the arrest of over 73,000 drug offenders and the seizure of more than 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances. His team has also intensified nationwide advocacy campaigns against drug abuse.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, November 14, 2025, President Tinubu praised Marwa’s performance and urged him to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse,” the President said. “I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”.
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