NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa has said arresting and convicting drug traffickers is not enough, arguing that authorities must also seize the proceeds and assets generated from their crimes to effectively dismantle criminal networks.
Marwa spoke at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom, where he said the success of the criminal justice system should be measured not only by convictions but also by its ability to make crime unprofitable.
He warned that a trafficker who loses his freedom but retains his wealth can use the proceeds to finance new operations, support associates and sustain criminal activities. He said drug enforcement agencies must therefore move quickly to deny criminals access to illicit wealth while preserving the value of seized assets.
The NDLEA boss cited the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, linked to a fugitive drug suspect, as an example. The property was sold for $4.2m, with the proceeds paid into the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Marwa also said the agency froze bank accounts containing more than $7m in the previous month and secured interim forfeiture orders on multibillion-naira assets, including filling stations, buildings and exotic vehicles allegedly linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.
To prevent assets from losing value, he said the NDLEA now places viable businesses under professional managers rather than shutting them down. The agency also considers the interlocutory sale of perishable and depreciating assets before final judgments where necessary.
Marwa said financial disruption had been incorporated into Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030 as a long-term priority. He, however, called for faster international cooperation, stronger forensic accounting capacity and better cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders to help authorities pursue drug traffickers and their assets across jurisdictions.
