By Promise Eze 

Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says the war against drug trafficking cannot be won through arrests alone but must be matched by an equally aggressive pursuit of the proceeds of crime.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Marwa spoke at the ongoing 43rd Cambridge international symposium on economic crime, organised by the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK).

Addressing an international gathering of judges, law enforcement chiefs and financial intelligence experts, the NDLEA chairman said the effectiveness of the criminal justice process should not be measured only by the number of convictions secured.

“It should also be measured by whether crime is made unprofitable,” he said.

“A trafficker who loses his liberty but retains his fortune has not truly been defeated. His wealth can finance another operation, support his associates and sustain the criminal enterprise.

“The ultimate objective must therefore be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crime, promptly, and lawfully while preserving the value of the property. Nigeria, through the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, will continue to strengthen this approach.”

Marwa said arresting a trafficker without dismantling his fortune is like “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed”, warning that such wealth could simply resurface “under a different name, through a different front company, in a different jurisdiction”.

He outlined six strategies deployed by the NDLEA to strengthen asset recovery, anchored on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004.

He cited the NDLEA’s $4.2 million forfeiture of the Hook Hotel and said the agency had frozen more than $7 million in bank accounts and secured interim forfeiture orders over assets worth billions of naira.

Marwa said three hotels linked to suspected drug baron Amadi Simon had been placed under professional management to preserve their value pending trial.

He further highlighted the agency’s use of provisions on unexplained wealth and living beyond one’s legitimate means as powerful investigative triggers, as well as the interlocutory sale of perishable and depreciating assets to protect their value ahead of final judgement.

He noted that the efforts had now been institutionalised under Nigeria’s national drug control master plan 2026–2030, ensuring that the financial disruption of drug cartels remains a sustained national priority rather than a series of isolated cases.

Marwa acknowledged that challenges remained, particularly delays in mutual legal assistance, limited forensic accounting capacity and the need to balance the rights of accused persons with the state’s duty to preserve assets pending trial.

He called for faster international cooperation mechanisms and stronger cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.

Source: TheCable