Take Away Their Wealth!’ — Buba Marwa Reveals NDLEA’s Hardline Fight Against Drug Barons

Marwa made the remarks in a presentation titled “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?” at the ongoing 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

This was contained in a statement issued by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

According to Marwa, the success of the criminal justice system should not be judged only by the number of convictions obtained, but also by its ability to ensure that crime does not remain profitable.

He argued that a drug trafficker who is arrested and imprisoned but manages to retain his wealth has not been completely defeated, as such resources could be used to finance new criminal operations, support associates and sustain the illicit network.

He said the ultimate goal should be to legally and promptly deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes while preserving the value of recovered assets.

Marwa likened arresting drug traffickers without going after their wealth to “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed.” He warned that illicit fortunes could re-emerge under new identities, front companies or in other jurisdictions.

The NDLEA chairman outlined six strategies the agency has adopted to improve asset recovery, relying on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.

Among the examples he cited was the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, a property reportedly linked to a fugitive drug suspect. The property was recovered through non-conviction-based forfeiture and subsequently sold for $4.2 million, with the proceeds remitted to the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account held by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Marwa said the development demonstrated that fugitives could not simply evade justice while continuing to benefit financially from their alleged crimes.

He also disclosed that NDLEA investigators and prosecutors are now working together from the early stages of cases. According to him, the reform has helped reduce the time between arrests and the securing of asset restraint orders.

The NDLEA boss further revealed that the agency froze bank accounts containing more than $7 million in a single month and obtained interim forfeiture orders covering assets worth billions of naira. The assets included filling stations, multi-storey buildings and luxury vehicles allegedly connected to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.

Speaking on the high-profile case involving Nigerian billionaire and suspected drug baron Amadi Simon, who was arrested in Switzerland through a joint operation involving the NDLEA, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and authorities in Switzerland, Greece and France, Marwa said three hotels linked to the suspect were handed over to professional asset managers.

Rather than shutting down the hotels, he explained, the NDLEA opted to keep them operating in order to preserve their value as going concerns while the trial continues.

Marwa also highlighted the agency’s reliance on unexplained wealth and lifestyles inconsistent with legitimate income as investigative triggers. He noted that the interlocutory sale of assets that are perishable or rapidly depreciating is also being used to prevent significant losses in value before final court judgments.

According to him, these measures have now been incorporated into Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, making the financial disruption of drug cartels a sustained national priority rather than a collection of isolated enforcement actions.

However, Marwa acknowledged that significant challenges remain, including delays in mutual legal assistance, inadequate forensic accounting capacity and the difficulty of balancing the rights of accused persons with the government’s responsibility to safeguard assets during criminal proceedings.

He therefore called for faster international cooperation and stronger mechanisms for recognising and enforcing non-conviction-based forfeiture orders across borders.