NDLEA Calls for Global Action Against Drug Traffickers

At the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, urged for global action to seize the assets of drug traffickers. He stated that law enforcement agencies should focus on the financial foundations of organized crime, arguing that the effectiveness of the criminal justice system should not solely be measured by convictions but also by its ability to make crime unprofitable.

Marwa outlined six strategies being implemented by the NDLEA to enhance asset recovery, supported by the NDLEA Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022. He cited the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, linked to a fugitive drug suspect, as a successful example.

Marwa also mentioned the freezing of bank accounts worth over $7 million and interim forfeiture orders on multibillion-naira assets. He discussed the arrest of Nigerian billionaire Amadi Simon in Switzerland through a joint operation involving multiple international agencies.