Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd), has said that the removal of the fine option from the NDLEA Act would strengthen the deterrence effect of court prosecution and conviction.
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Marwa said that the clause that allowed for the option of fine for drug offenders from the agency’s Act was currently undergoing amendment in the National Assembly.
The NDLEA boss stated this in his remarks while defending the 2022 NDLEA budget proposal before the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics chaired by Senator Hezekiah Dimka, on Wednesday, in Abuja
This was contained in a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, in Abuja.
Marwa said that he had also visited the Chief Judge, Federal High Court of Nigeria, Justice John Tsoho, on the issue of options of fine given to some drug traffickers.
He, however, said the removal of the clause that allowed judges to use discretionary powers to give options of fine would resolve the jigsaw.
Marwa, while defending the N38.1 billion 2022 budget proposal, said though the allocation might not solve all the problems facing the agency, it was a great improvement on the previous budgets.
“As such, we want to thank President Muhammadu Buhari, the Finance Minister, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and more importantly, the leadership of the National Assembly and this esteemed Committee on Drugs and Narcotics for giving us all the support we need to make the progress being talked about today,” he stated.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee appreciated Marwa for the successes recorded by the agency since his assumption of office.
Dimka added that there was no doubt that Marwa’s approach and manner of operations in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse was extraordinary.
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