.... NDLEA boss alerts monarchs over Mexican cartel infiltration, demands strict vetting for forest land buyersDriven by an unrelenting nationwide campaign to dismantle illicit drug networks, the Chairman and Chief uExecutive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has issued a clarion call to Nigeria’s traditional institutions, parents, and community leaders.
Marwa urged these vital societal pillars to join forces with the agency, emphasizing that crushing the menace of substance abuse requires absolute grassroots ownership.
According to a statement released on Saturday, July 25, 2026, by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the anti-narcotics boss dropped the charge while chairing a dual-celebration milestone in Ogun State. Marwa was speaking at the 10th anniversary of Akinale Day, which coincided with the 1st coronation anniversary of Oba Oluseyi Ayodeji Adewole Adediran (Otileta I, Towulade of Owu Akinale), held at the Baptist Primary School grounds in Owu 3Akinale.
For Marwa, the event was more than official duty—it was a pilgrimage of friendship, respect, and admiration. The statement highlighted a cross-decade alliance, noting that the NDLEA chief and the monarch have shared close ties for nearly 20 years, beginning well before the crown, during the traditional ruler’s tenure as leader of the Lisabi Youths.
Showering accolades on the monarch, Marwa observed that the very leadership traits that defined Oba Adediran’s years as a youth advocate have now become the bedrock of his steady, one-year reign on the historic throne of Owu Akinale.
Pivoting to his primary mandate, the NDLEA boss delivered a stark warning: drug abuse is an equal-opportunity destroyer, cutting across economic classes and urban-rural divides. Marwa challenged parents to return to foundational family values, urging vigilant monitoring and swift intervention at the first sign of behavioral shifts.
Turning his gaze to the younger generation, he pleaded with youths to reject the illusion of illicit substances, describing drug abuse as a toxic trap that multiplies problems rather than solving them.
To anchor this strategy locally, the NDLEA boss tasked the royal council and community leaders with building grassroots advocacy networks. The goal is two-fold: turn Owu Akinale into a hostile fortress against drug peddlers, while providing a compassionate lifeline for those battling addiction.
Marwa emphasized that the agency simply cannot secure a victory without a structural partnership with traditional institutions, labeling monarchs as the ultimate custodians who truly understand local youth dynamics.
Grounding his warning in a chilling domestic reality, Marwa pointed to the recent unearthing of a Nigerian-Mexican cartel operating industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratories deep within the forests of Ogun and Oyo states. He urgently tasked royal fathers and community leaders across the Southwest and the nation at large to aggressively police their borderlands and monitor the activities of strangers. Moving forward, the NDLEA chief insisted that any individuals or syndicates seeking to purchase rural farmlands must undergo rigorous security vetting.
The high-profile event drew a distinguished gathering of political heavyweights, prominent traditional rulers, and top-tier societal influencers.
