President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reappointed Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years.
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020. With the latest renewal, the Adamawa-born retired military officer will now lead the NDLEA until 2031.
A 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, he has held notable positions including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and academic registrar of the NDA. He later served as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Marwa holds postgraduate degrees in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and Public Administration from Harvard University.
His leadership at the NDLEA has been marked by major drug seizures and high-profile arrests. The agency reports more than 73,000 arrests of drug traffickers and over 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances seized during his tenure. He has also championed national campaigns aimed at reducing drug abuse.
President Tinubu, in reaffirming confidence in Marwa’s stewardship, said the reappointment reflects recognition of his “onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse,” urging him to intensify the fight, particularly to protect young Nigerians.
The announcement was contained in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on November 14, 2025.
