The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reports it has counselled and rehabilitated over 54,000 drug users in the past five years.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) announced this on Friday in Benin at the second Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSMs) Convention.
He emphasised that substance dependence is a treatable health condition requiring intervention and support, and urged the Nigerian Army to strengthen efforts to prevent drug abuse among its personnel.
He spoke on the theme: “Combating Drug Abuse and Substance Misuse in the Nigerian Army: The Role of RSMs in Prevention, Early Detection and Rehabilitation”.
According to him, drug dependence should not automatically be treated as a moral failure or grounds for discarding affected personnel.
He stressed the importance of balancing discipline with appropriate treatment.
“A drug user is not automatically a criminal to be thrown away. In many cases, he is a sick man who needs help,” he said.
Marwa stated that NDLEA’s rehabilitation efforts are part of a broader response to the country’s drug problem, which also includes enforcement, prevention and public sensitisation.
He cited the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, which estimated that 14.3 million Nigerians aged between 15 and 64 had used drugs in 2017, representing 14.4 per cent of the population.
He noted that drug-use prevalence in Lagos is 33 per cent, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the country.
The NDLEA chairman said the agency has arrested more than 76,000 suspects, including 250 drug barons, in the past five years.
He added that the agency seized over 16 million kilograms of illicit substances, destroyed more than 2,000 hectares of cannabis farms, and secured 16,691 convictions during this period.
“The agency also conducted 17,000 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy activities in schools, workplaces, markets, motor parks and communities, ” he said.
Marwa stated that substance misuse poses a serious threat to the Nigerian Army’s combat readiness, discipline, and operational effectiveness. Why is drug abuse a combat readiness issue? Some may think that drug abuse is a welfare or social problem. It is far more than that. It is an operational problem in the Army and a command problem,” he said.
He explained that drugs can impair soldiers’ judgment and trigger aggression, paranoia, and delusions, potentially endangering colleagues and civilians during military operations.
He warned that substance misuse can also lead to absenteeism, indiscipline, theft of military property, and weakened unit cohesion.
“Combat requires reliability. One unreliable man can lead to the loss of life for 10 men or more,” he said.
Marwa identified RSMs as critical to preventing drug abuse within military formations, describing them as the conscience of their units and a key link between soldiers and commanding officers.
He said their daily interaction with personnel puts them in a strategic position to detect behavioural changes and identify possible cases of substance misuse early—the commanding officer’s most honest adviser. You must tell the commander the truth. You are the principal moral boss of the unit. You can build morale or kill it,” he said.
He urged RSMs to lead by example, maintain discipline, and educate soldiers on the dangers of drug abuse during unit meetings and other engagements.
He listed possible warning signs such as unusual drowsiness, red or glazed eyes, weight loss, poor hygiene, tremors, slurred speech, unexplained debts, missing property, and frequent disappearances.
He cautioned that no single sign is conclusive evidence of drug use and stressed that proper testing is necessary.“The conclusive way to confirm drug use is through the drug integrity test,” he said.
Marwa also urged military authorities to distinguish between drug trafficking and substance dependence, saying traffickers should face the law while personnel struggling with addiction should be assessed for treatment.
He said the circumstances of each case should be considered, including whether a wounded soldier had become dependent on pain medication.
The chairman said the NDLEA has rehabilitation centres nationwide and is willing to share expertise with the Army, including training its medical and welfare personnel.
Marwa called for stronger collaboration between the Army and NDLEA, especially in intelligence gathering and operations against drug trafficking networks.
He warned that traffickers may attempt to compromise military personnel with money and other inducements, urging RSMs to reject such approaches and report suspicious activities.
He acknowledged the Army’s support for NDLEA operations, particularly in conducting raids on cannabis farms located in remote forests.
“The NDLEA cannot fight this war alone. The Army cannot fight this war alone. Drug abuse is a shared enemy,” he said.
