Nigeria has called for stronger international intelligence-sharing and tougher action against the finances of drug trafficking networks, while urging greater investment in drug control institutions in developing countries.
Speaking at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, 12 October, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Secretary Shadrach Haruna said Nigeria had shifted towards an intelligence-led approach combining enforcement, public health and financial investigations.
Haruna, representing NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the agency recorded 38,242 arrests, secured 6,232 convictions and seized more than 5.8 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs valued at over ₦2.5 trillion between January 2025 and September 2026. More than 16,303 people also received counselling, treatment or rehabilitation during the period.
He highlighted a pilot programme in three communities in Ondo State supporting farmers to replace illicit cannabis cultivation with legal agricultural activities. He also cited digital initiatives and Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026-2030 as parts of its wider strategy.
Nigeria urged countries to intensify financial investigations and asset recovery, expand prevention and rehabilitation services, and provide developing countries with training, technology and forensic capabilities to counter increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks.
