The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, otherwise known as NDLEA, was created by Decree No. 48 in 1989 during the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, the military ruler of Nigeria at the time.
The establishment of the NDLEA was fuelled by the endemic problems of drug trafficking and abuse, both at local and international levels, which made people see the need for such an agency.
The agency commenced operations in 1990 and was established with a specific purpose to eradicate the growth, manufacture, market, and use of illegal drugs.
NDLEA has been active in the healthy crusade against drugs and responding to drug-related devastation through arrest, prosecution, and awareness mobilization. The buying and selling of illegal drugs has also remained in the country with the help of national and global bodies.
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The Founder of NDLEA: Vision, Mission, and the Establishment of the Agency
General Ibrahim Babangida’s futuristic look helped establish the NDLEA, which became the spearhead agency able to carry out all the core functions in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking within Nigeria.
Babangida recognized the threats posed by drug trafficking, given Nigeria’s strategic place as a transiting drug route, and wished to protect the country’s image from international criticism.
The establishment of the NDLEA was a conscious step by Nigeria in creating a body that would fight the drug menace.
In furtherance of this, Nigeria, who is a party to the 1988 UN Convention, which sought the establishment of autonomous bodies that would wage war against the drug scourge in Asia, Africa and even America, made this move.
Before the NDLEA, the Board of Customs and Excise (now Nigeria Customs Service), Nigeria Police, and the Federal Welfare Department were the main drug control agencies: the customs and policemen focused on drug interdiction.
At the same time, the welfare department offered counseling, treatment, and rehabilitation of drug dependents. It can be evaluated from the activities of the Agency over the years that the government erred in no way when it erected the institute, which has become the reference point in the world in the fight against drug growth and trafficking as well as abuse.
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NDLEA’s Vision
To become the most proactive and leading Drug Law Enforcement Agency on the African Continent and one of the best in the world through the provision of effective and efficient services to Nigerians by cutting off the supply of illicit drugs, reducing the demand for illegal drugs and other substances of abuse, tracing and recovering drug-related proceeds and contributing to the creation and maintenance of a desirable image for the Nation throughout the world.
NDLEA’s Mission
- Total Suppression of the Illicit Drug Trade: The management of NDLEA is focused on the total cessation of illicit trade in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances within and outside the borders of Nigeria as a matter of priority.
- Reduction of the Supply and Demand for Drugs: The agency’s activities extend to the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers together with a strategy of suppressing supply for such illicit drugs market.
- Repatriation of Drug Money: NDLEA intends to grant provisions to rehabilitate the drug dealers by taking away their wealth earned through illicit drug business.
- Fostering Nigeria’s Image: Safeguarding and improving the reputation of Nigeria and its citizens remains the agency’s core purpose, even outside Nigeria, during the war on drugs.
- Maintenance of Nigeria’s Image in Foreign Countries: The agency strives to promote and protect the image of Nigerians and Nigeria as a country by stopping the involvement of Nigerians in drug-related crimes by foreigners.
