The Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen Mohammed Marwa (Rtd) on Tuesday, tasked officers and men of the anti-narcotic agency to make it difficult for drug barons, traffickers and cartels to operate in Nigeria in the year, 2022.
He gave the charge at a meeting with the Directors, Zonal Commanders, State, and Special Area Commanders, during which four state commands and 25 officers were given cash-backed awards and commendation letters for their outstanding performance in the areas of drug supply reduction, drug demand reduction and diligent prosecution of cases in the last quarter of the year, 2021.
Marwa said, the figures of our Drug Supply Reduction activities have skyrocketed: 11, 340 arrests and 1,111 convictions in 11 months and that the figures are balanced by equally impressive Drug Demand Reduction stats: 7,066 counselled and rehabilitated, all in four facilities.
“During the 11 months, we have successfully mopped up over 3.3 million kilograms of assorted drugs; away from the streets of Nigeria; away from criminals, terrorists and bandits; away from our youths.
“This Awards and Commendations ceremony is an attestation that the leadership of NDLEA is keeping its side of the bargain, to wit, to motivate the NDLEA workforce as a means of getting the Agency out of the rot in which it was stuck for years. It was to this end that we instituted, among other measures, the Bimonthly Best Performing Command Award, which after two editions was transformed into the Quarterly Awards. The transmutation notwithstanding, the objective remains to reward individual hard work and diligence of officers and to appreciate the collective effort of commands.
“It cannot be gainsaid that the awards have not been successful. From all indications, our reward scheme has galvanized the NDLEA workforce as evidenced by our daily and weekly performance, which attracts national and international accolades. Just three weeks ago, at the ICPC 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in Nigeria, held on November 30, 2021, our officer was one of three distinguished Nigerians honoured by the President with the 2021 Public Service Integrity Award. That speaks volumes about the renewed work ethics within the Agency. With a sense of modesty, he deserves a pat on the back for the good work that earned him the national award.
“As for those hurdles that were the sources of stagnation and disenchantment, the leadership of NDLEA has dismantled most, if not all of them. We have made a case for a new salary structure; we have harmonised our rank structure and stagnated ranks through the promotion of 3,506 officers and men; we have rejigged our welfare scheme and now have a functional insurance scheme; we paid burial entitlements to the families of officers lost in the line of duty. We have practically doubled our strength in terms of personnel in one year. We will be having barracks in the new year”, he said.
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