- NDLEA boss demands increased mental health funding, calls for priority support for women, children
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), has warned that Nigeria cannot effectively combat drug abuse without substantial investment in mental healthcare, stressing that untreated psychological distress is a major factor driving substance abuse among vulnerable populations.
Marwa said drug abuse and mental illness often reinforce each other, warning that an approach focused exclusively on arrests and drug interdiction would fail to address the underlying causes of addiction.
“If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he declared on Tuesday in Abuja, calling for increased mental health funding, accessible treatment services and stronger collaboration among government institutions, healthcare providers and community organisations.
The NDLEA chief spoke while chairing the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by the Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja. The conference, led by UK-based consultant psychiatrist, Dr Vincent Udenze, was held days after the 2026 World Mental Health Day, with discussions focused on strategic investments, partnerships and community-led interventions.
Drawing from the agency’s experience in drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, Marwa said many people struggling with substance abuse had underlying psychological problems that remained undetected or untreated until their conditions deteriorated.
“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence. In my work at the NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily,” he said.
“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause.”
He called for a fundamental shift towards an integrated response that combines drug law enforcement with prevention, early intervention, mental healthcare and sustained support for people recovering from addiction.
Marwa disclosed that more than 53,843 people had passed through the NDLEA’s 31 rehabilitation facilities nationwide over the past five years, describing the figure as an indication of the scale of treatment and recovery needs across the country.
“Behind that number are fathers returned to their families and young people returned to school and work,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman argued that rehabilitation should not be viewed merely as a public health intervention but also as an investment in family stability, human capital development and national productivity.
He called for a substantial increase in government funding for mental healthcare, warning that the sector could no longer remain underfunded in public health budgets.
According to him, greater investment in prevention, professional training and accessible treatment would produce wider social and economic benefits, including improved productivity, safer communities and stronger families.
Marwa said Nigeria needed more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers, alongside the integration of mental health services into primary healthcare facilities.
He maintained that decentralising services would enable people to receive timely assistance within their communities rather than travel long distances to reach specialised institutions.
“No one travels hundreds of kilometres to be heard,” he said, underscoring the need to make mental health support readily available at the grassroots.
He also advocated equitable healthcare financing, insisting that access to mental health services should not depend on an individual’s income or social status.
“Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system, it is a privilege,” he added.
Beyond healthcare financing, Marwa identified poverty, hopelessness and limited economic opportunities as factors that could increase people’s vulnerability to substance abuse.
He cited an NDLEA intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where residents who previously depended on illicit cultivation received support to establish legitimate livelihoods.
According to him, the initiative demonstrated the importance of involving local communities in designing and implementing interventions, rather than imposing solutions without considering their economic realities.
“Mental wellbeing cannot thrive where hopelessness and poverty drive people into harm,” he said, adding that families with sustainable incomes and confidence in their future were better positioned to build resilience against social and economic pressures.
Marwa disclosed that the agency intended to expand the livelihood intervention nationwide and was seeking partnerships to support its implementation.
He also highlighted the NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which targets young people through sensitisation programmes in schools, tertiary institutions and communities.
The campaign, he said, was designed to strengthen drug abuse prevention, promote awareness of the dangers of substance use and encourage young people to make informed decisions.
Marwa further drew attention to the agency’s 24-hour toll-free helpline, which provides an avenue for people experiencing substance-related problems and their families to seek assistance.
“A frightened teenager, a worried mother or a person on the edge can be heard in the dead of night, at no cost,” he said.
The NDLEA boss also urged policymakers and service providers to give greater attention to women, children and other vulnerable groups in the design and delivery of mental healthcare programmes.
He specifically identified survivors of violence, displaced mothers, unsupported girls, persons living with disabilities and families uprooted by conflict as groups whose mental health needs were frequently overlooked.
Marwa said the agency’s rehabilitation experience had reinforced the importance of extending recovery support beyond the individual to include family members and the wider household.
He called for stronger coordination among the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors, stressing that no single institution could independently address the complex links between mental illness, substance abuse and social vulnerability.
The NDLEA chairman, who also presided over the conference’s first edition in 2022 and its third edition, commended the organisers for sustaining the platform and expanding national discussions on mental health.
He also expressed appreciation to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the event by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, describing the participation as an important signal of the relevance of mental health to national development.
Marwa urged participants to translate the conference discussions into measurable commitments, particularly in financing effective interventions, expanding community-based services and protecting vulnerable populations.
“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he said.
Nigeria’s response to substance abuse has included drug interdiction, arrests, public awareness campaigns, treatment and rehabilitation. Marwa’s remarks highlighted the need to strengthen the mental healthcare component of that response, particularly amid persistent barriers associated with stigma, inadequate treatment access and socioeconomic hardship.
He maintained that the country’s objective must go beyond stopping drug use to ensuring that people experiencing psychological distress receive timely and appropriate support before substance abuse compounds their difficulties.
