By Ibrahim Hassan, Kaduna

The Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control (SODAEC) has raised concern over the reported absence of capital funding for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2025, warning that the development could undermine Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking, banditry, and terrorism.

In a statement issued Tuesday in Kaduna, SODAEC Executive Director, Ahmad Musa Umar, described the lack of funding as “a national security suicide note,” noting that it amounts to a “calculated abandonment” of one of the country’s most critical anti-narcotics institutions.

The group highlighted the NDLEA’s achievements, including narcotics seizures valued at over ₦550 billion and the destruction of 640 hectares of illicit drug farms, despite operating with limited manpower and logistics. SODAEC noted that the agency, serving over 200 million Nigerians, has fewer than 14,000 personnel, with some state commands functioning with as few as three operational vehicles.

“It is not merely a budgetary oversight; it is a masterclass in institutional sabotage,” the statement read, emphasizing that officers risk their lives daily under constrained conditions.

SODAEC urged the federal government to provide a proper budgetary allocation and welfare package to the NDLEA, arguing that strengthening the agency is essential to tackling drug-related crimes, which fuel corruption, banditry, and terrorism. The group also called for urgent recruitment to triple the agency’s manpower and for reforms to protect personnel welfare.

Beyond federal intervention, SODAEC appealed to state governors and local government chairmen to support community-based drug control initiatives, proposing adoption of its “Subnational Implementation Guide: SODAEC Evidence-Based Framework for Illicit Drug Trafficking Control.”

“Nigeria is at a crossroads. We are fighting a 21st-century narco-war with shrinking ammunition,” the group warned, calling for immediate action to safeguard national security and public safety.