The Katsina State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has convicted 87 illicit drug barons and arrested 1,018 suspects in 2025.
The State Narcotics Commander, Mr Isma’il Danmalam, disclosed this on Tuesday in Katsina while briefing newsmen on the activities of the command in the year under review.
Danmalam said that 86 suspects are still undergoing trial. He added that out of the 1,018 suspects arrested, 992 were males and 26 were females.
According to him, more than 2.4 tonnes of various illicit drugs were confiscated during the year.
He commended the Chairman of the agency, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, for motivating officers to record these successes.
“These achievements are clearly reflected in the operations of the command through a balanced application of supply reduction (kinetic) and demand reduction (non-kinetic) strategies.
“These operations led to the seizure of substantial quantities of illicit substances, including 1,667.747 kg of cannabis, 12.348 kg of codeine, and 793.66 kg of other psychotropic substances,” he said.
The commander further noted that the command conducted 203 sensitisation and advocacy programmes, reaching 75,135 beneficiaries across schools, communities, and institutions.
He added that about 451 individuals received counselling, while 58 clients were admitted for rehabilitation.
“This demonstrates NDLEA’s commitment to prevention, treatment, and reintegration,” he said.
However, Danmalam acknowledged that despite these achievements, the command has continuously faced logistical challenges affecting operational efficiency.
He appealed to stakeholders and the government to support the command in overcoming these challenges to achieve maximum results.
Stressing that the fight against drugs requires collective responsibility, he called on communities to support information sharing, advocacy, and community policing to sustain the fight.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the commander also used the occasion to decorate some of the 61 personnel recently promoted in the command.
