The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has called for a coordinated approach to tackling drug abuse and mental health challenges in Nigeria.
Marwa warned that drug use and mental illness often worsen each other, stressing that focusing solely on arrests without addressing the underlying causes would not solve the problem.
He spoke on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, while chairing the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by the Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja.
The conference was led by UK-based consultant psychiatrist, Dr Vincent Udenze.
In a statement issued by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Marwa said the event provided an opportunity to move beyond raising awareness about mental health and take practical steps towards addressing the challenges.
He explained that many cases of drug abuse encountered at the agency’s rehabilitation facilities were linked to untreated emotional pain, depression and trauma.
According to him, some young people turn to drugs because they lack access to the support needed to cope with their problems.
“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence,” Marwa said.
He added that tackling drug abuse required addressing its root causes rather than focusing only on its symptoms.
Speaking on the conference theme of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action, the NDLEA chief said mental well-being would remain difficult to achieve where poverty and hopelessness pushed people into harmful situations.
Marwa cited the agency’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where families previously dependent on illicit cultivation had received support to establish legitimate sources of livelihood.
He called on the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors to work together to address drug abuse and mental health challenges.
The NDLEA chairman also urged participants to commit to funding effective programmes, expanding successful community-based interventions, prioritising women, children and other vulnerable groups, and ensuring accountability.
“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he added.
