The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in partnership with BRAVE-IT, on Thursday, raised alarms over the rising link between drug abuse, youth radicalisation, and terrorism in Nigeria.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), disclosed this in Abuja at the 2025 BRAVE-IT Breakfast Meeting on National Security, themed Pathway: Inter-agency collaboration and citizens’ cooperation in the fight against kidnapping, insurgency, and terrorism in Nigeria.
Marwa, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Drug Demand Reduction, Muhammed Bashir Ibrahim, noted that extremist and terrorist groups now actively exploit unemployed and drug-dependent youths to further their criminal aims.
The theme of the meeting was “Pathway: Inter-agency collaboration and citizens’ cooperation in the fight against kidnapping, insurgency, and terrorism in Nigeria.”
He also stressed the urgent need for multi-agency collaboration and grassroots empowerment.
He said: “Youth radicalisation and terrorism: Extremist and terrorist groups often prey on unemployed and drug-dependent youths, offering them drugs and a false sense of purpose. Some insurgents and suicide bombers are deliberately drugged before operations to suppress fear and conscience.
“Drug trafficking as a revenue stream: Just like in other parts of the world, drug trafficking has become a lucrative funding source for criminal gangs and insurgent groups. These networks exploit porous borders and weak community structures to traffic narcotics across regions.”
He commended the efforts of BRAVE-IT for its unwavering commitment to empowering vulnerable communities to resist violent extremism, terrorism, and insurgency.
He said: “Policy advocacy for stronger border control, signing of MoUs with many countries for intelligence sharing and capacity building of personnel, regulation of pharmaceuticals, and evidence-based prevention programmes.
“The youths are most vulnerable, therefore we speak the language they understand, that is social media; the agency is active on Facebook, Instagram, X-space, we are live every Friday 3 to 5 pm where discussions on drug abuse and related issues are discussed by professionals and our 24/7 free toll call centre for people who need help on drug abuse.
“Under the leadership of the present CEO, the agency has seized over 10 million different types of illicit drugs, arrested over 57,000 suspects, secured over 10,000 convictions, counselled and rehabilitated over 22,000 individuals.
“The agency’s aggressive raid operations and with our international collaboration have disrupted major drug networks and arrested over 65 major drug barons, destroyed thousands of hectares of cannabis farms. We are still confronted with a high rate of drug abuse and illicit trafficking.”
In his address, the National Coordinator of BRAVE-IT, Sir AK Peters, commended the NDLEA and other security agencies for their commitment but insisted that citizen engagement and agency synergy are essential to defeating terrorism and insecurity.
Sir Peters highlighted the annual security roundtable, themed “Pathway: Inter-agency collaboration and citizens’ cooperation in the fight against kidnapping, insurgency, and terrorism”, as a platform for open dialogue and strategic direction.
He blamed the lack of good governance over the past three decades as a root cause of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
He stressed that security cannot be left to the military or police alone, but must involve every arm of government, civil society, and citizens.
“Our goal, basically, is to have residents of vulnerable communities build and develop the requisite resilience against these vicissitudes and join hands with security agencies to flush them out from our system.
“Our armed forces and security agencies have the capability to end this war. But collaboration, political will, and sustained community engagement are key to long-term national peace and stability,” he added.
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