SODAEC decries zero capital release to NDLEA, demands statutory funding
The Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control (SODAEC) has expressed outrage over the alleged non-release of capital funds to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2025, describing
The Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control (SODAEC) has expressed outrage over the alleged non-release of capital funds to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2025, describing the development as a grave threat to national security.
In a statement issued in Kaduna on Tuesday, SODAEC Executive Director, Ahmad Musa Umar, said revelations from the National Assembly Joint Committee on Drugs and Narcotics showed that no capital allocation was released to the anti-narcotics agency this year.
He warned that starving the NDLEA of funds at a time of rising drug trafficking and abuse amounts to weakening one of Nigeria’s critical security institutions.
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The group noted that under the leadership of Mohamed Buba Marwa, the agency has recorded major breakthroughs, including the seizure of narcotics valued at over ₦550 billion and the destruction of 640 hectares of illicit drug farms.
SODAEC, however, lamented that despite these reported successes, the NDLEA operates with fewer than 14,000 personnel for a population of over 200 million, with some state commands allegedly managing operations with as few as three vehicles.
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The organization argued that the NDLEA’s mandate combines intelligence gathering, surveillance, paramilitary enforcement and prosecution, insisting that its role directly impacts national security, economic stability and social order.
It maintained that drug trafficking fuels banditry and terrorism, while drug-related corruption undermines economic governance, adding that adequately funding the NDLEA would address the roots of insecurity.
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SODAEC called for the agency to be placed on first-line charge to guarantee statutory funding and shield it from what it described as “annual budgetary volatility.”
The group also demanded an investigation into the alleged withholding of capital releases in 2025, alongside urgent recruitment to significantly boost manpower and improve personnel welfare.
Beyond federal intervention, SODAEC urged state governors and local government chairmen to adopt community-based drug control strategies, insisting that trafficking and addiction thrive at subnational levels and require coordinated grassroots action.
