The outgoing Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has handed over to the director general of the Agency, Mrs Roli Bode-George in a colourful parade at the Ikoyi headquarters, Lagos. Giade who inspected the guard of honour also received the lowered NDLEA flag and presented a new flag to the Acting Chairman which was immediately hoisted signifying the beginning of a new era. This is the first time in the Agency that an outgoing chairman will successfully serve for ten years without blemish.   

Ahmadu Giade presenting handover note to Mrs Roli Bode-George

According to Giade, “I am leaving the Agency better than I met it ten years ago. My greatest legacy is my zero tolerance for corruption. If we must continue to dislodge drug barons and eradicate drugs from our society we must remain forthright and committed to drug control programmes. I am leaving behind a legacy of proactive and intelligence-led organisation. The Agency under my watch has a representative at INTERPOL headquarters and has successfully raised the international profile of the country through unprecedented seizures of drugs and arrest of drug barons”.
He cited the removal of Nigeria from the drug majors list by the United States government and cordial working relationship with stakeholders as some of the significant achievements recorded in the past ten years. “The removal of Nigeria from the majors list opened door to a robust cooperation and partnership with stakeholders. NDLEA has witnessed unprecedented training programmes for officers sponsored by United States government, Germany, Spain, France and the European Union”. He however urged the new boss to take officers welfare as priority.
The acting Chairman of the anti-narcotic Agency, Mrs Bode-George said that the Agency will continue to enforce the rules of engagement and uphold the tenets of integrity. “A committee has been put in place to make recommendations on the way forward. NDLEA will continue to be proactive and operate as an intelligence-led agency. The Agency will apply modern techniques and diligently implement the National Drug Control Master Plan in collaboration with stakeholders” Roli stated.
It will be recalled that the NDLEA under Giade in 2011 discovered the first clandestine laboratory used for methamphetamine production. So far, a total of ten methamphetamine production centres have been discovered and shutdown in Lagos and Anambra States, while drugs weighing fifty-five million, eight hundred and thirty thousand, eight hundred and thirty-seven (55,830,837kg) kilogrammes and arrest of 72,253 suspected drug traffickers were seized between 2006 and 2014.
The suspected traffickers are 67,773 males and 4,480 females while the breakdown of drugs is as follows; 55,657,727.32kg of cannabis, 17,748.382kg of cocaine, 874.304kg of heroin and 153,831.6kg of psychotropic substances. The NDLEA also prosecuted 14,801 drug traffickers within the period and won 14,668 cases.