The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has described the planned probe of the Agency by the House of Representatives as a blessing.
The Agency said this amount represents the estimated value of seized drugs and not physical cash.
Such seized drugs are regularly destroyed publicly in line with the NDLEA Act. The Agency stated that the probe will not only give it a clean bill of health but will ultimately enable the House to appreciate its impressive scorecard in the past ten years and increase its budgetary appropriation for optimal performance in the country’s war against narcotics.
NDLEA deserves commendation as one of the Agencies of government that has judiciously managed its annual budgetary allocations with zero tolerance for corruption. The remarkable result recorded is a product of pragmatic leadership, selfless-sacrifices made by dedicated officers as well as the goodwill of stakeholders. The past ten years of the NDLEA under the immediate past Chairman/Chief Executive, Ahmadu Giade can best be described as the golden era of drug control in Nigeria. This has led to the ever rising international profile of Nigeria through dislodgement of drug trafficking cartels, removal of Nigeria from the Drug Majors List by the United States, unprecedented seizures of drugs as well as arrests and convictions of drug traffickers.
Between 2006 and 2014, NDLEA seized narcotic drugs weighing fifty-five million, eight hundred and thirty thousand, eight hundred and thirty-seven kilogrammes (55,830,837kg) valued at over one trillion naira. It also arrested 72,253 suspected drug traffickers. The suspected traffickers consists of 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.
In his congratulations letter, UNODC Executive Director Mr Yury Fedotove lauded the former Chairman, Ahmadu Giade for his pragmatic and visionary leadership in the fight against drug trafficking syndicates. In a letter signed by the Deputy Executive Director Mr Aldo Lale-Demoz, UNODC commended the commitment and engagement of the NDLEA boss in the continued close cooperation with stakeholders.

“Your efforts have been instrumental in making Nigeria a key player in the global efforts to address the drug problem and I am confident that this legacy will live on. This close collaboration has also been manifested by NDLEA hosting our project team for the NDLEA-EU-UNODC project on the Response to Drugs and Related Organised Crime in Nigeria” Fedotov stated.

The United States Consul General, Mr John Bray equally commended the Agency for ten years of outstanding leadership. Mr Bray presented two letters of commendation from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). According to INL, the vision and steadfast service of the Agency’s leadership has placed “NDLEA on the road to adopting modern law enforcement investigative techniques and transiting to an intelligence-led agency. The Agency has raised its international profile and fostered international cooperation with major stakeholders. These accomplishment have created a foundation upon which the NDLEA can combat drug trafficking and strengthen the security of the Nigerian people”.