Abuja – The United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse, praising the leadership of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) under its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd). The assurance came during a courtesy visit by UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Salem Saeed Musabbeh Alshamsi, to the NDLEA National Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, 11 November 2025.
The ambassador said, “I’m here to appreciate your hard work and the great leadership you have provided the NDLEA. We have been following your achievements very closely, and I must say you have done very well and are still doing an excellent job. We follow all the good work that you’ve been doing, especially all the drugs you’re seizing and blocking from coming to the UAE and we’re so proud of your achievements and that’s why we’re here to deepen our cooperation with your agency in the area of fighting drug trafficking. The UAE looks forward to working more closely with Nigeria on drug enforcement matters.”
Alshamsi extended an invitation to Marwa to visit the UAE and meet with Dubai Police leadership for further engagements, and expressed readiness to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NDLEA to formalise collaboration. He added, “We need to exchange information about drug dealers and all of their activities. We are here to help and to support you, especially on this matter. It’s very important that we have very great communication between the UAE and Nigeria, especially now that the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria has become one of the best. If there is any other thing I could do to support the great work you’re doing here, please do not hesitate to ask me and I’ll be available and willing to do it in appreciation of your great leadership. Our mission is to be here for you, assist and support you.”
In response, Marwa thanked the envoy for the kind words and praised the developmental strides in the UAE. He highlighted the strong diplomatic ties between the two nations, noting the recent surge in non‑oil trade worth billions of dollars, which aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Marwa said, “I’d like to acknowledge the strong diplomatic relations between our two countries that have continued to grow stronger every year. And Your Excellency has just told us now the latest in billions of dollars in non‑oil trade and this is something that we welcome very much in Nigeria because the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda wants to achieve not just peace and stability, but prosperity for all Nigerians. The drug scourge is universal, both the trafficking of it and the abuse of it and there’s a need for collaboration between nations to achieve solutions on this. And in Nigeria, the NDLEA is the agency that is tasked with the control of illicit drugs in the country.”
Marwa reported that over the past four years the NDLEA has intercepted a total of 302.202 kilograms of assorted illicit substances destined for the UAE, either at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos or through courier companies in the city. As the largest anti‑narcotics agency in Africa, NDLEA partners with leading drug law enforcement agencies worldwide. “We welcome the collaboration between NDLEA and our counterparts in the UAE, we’re also willing to honour the invitation to visit the UAE for collaborative discussions and sign the MoU,” Marwa assured the ambassador.
The meeting underscored a deepening partnership aimed at curbing drug trafficking and reinforcing the shared goal of a safer, drug‑free Nigeria and United Arab Emirates.
