Drug barons tempt NDLEA personnel with bribes – Marwa

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, said on Wednesday inadequate funding was affecting the agency’s operations.

Marwa, who stated this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Drugs and Narcotics for the 2022 budget defence, added that drug barons lure the NDLEA personnel with bribes due to insufficient funds available to the agency.

He said: “There are serious funding challenges and apart from being a detriment to our successful operations, there is another aspect of poor funding of an agency like the NDLEA.

“There is no business that is awash with funds anywhere in the world from unproductive efforts like the drugs business; they have billions.

“So, when you do not fund the agency, the personnel have temptation. They are tempted by these barons. This is another aspect of the need for adequate funding so that personnel have their monies.

READ ALSO: NDLEA seized drugs worth N100bn, secured 1630 convictions – Marwa

“The proposal for 2022 is an improvement on the past budgets and this stems primarily from the keen interest of the President on the challenges that we are facing, and as well the minister of finance, who is committed to ridding the country of drug abuse.

“It is an improvement, but there are critical areas that need enhancement in which we would rely on this committee to support us.

“The usual Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) budget envelope allocated for the ministry of justice was what we all shared. The budget is a total of N38,152,288,851.”

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