The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has provided rehabilitation services to 53,843 people through its 31 treatment facilities across Nigeria in the past five years.
The agency’s Chairman, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed this on Tuesday at the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference, organised by Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
Marwa called on the government to increase funding for mental healthcare, warning that enforcement measures alone would not adequately address substance abuse without tackling the underlying psychological and social factors.
He identified untreated depression, trauma, poverty and hopelessness as some of the issues that could push people towards drug use.
“Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman, according to a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the number of people treated represented individuals who had been helped to rebuild their lives.
“Behind that number are fathers returned to their families and young people returned to school and work,” Marwa said.
He urged the government to strengthen mental health services by recruiting more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers, while integrating mental healthcare into primary healthcare facilities.
According to him, inadequate access to mental health services continues to affect individuals who need professional support, particularly those unable to afford private treatment.
“Mental health cannot remain the poorest relation in our health budgets,” he said, stressing that investment in prevention, skilled personnel and accessible treatment would benefit families, communities and the wider economy.
Marwa also advocated equitable funding to ensure that access to treatment was not determined by a person’s financial circumstances.
“Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system; it is a privilege,” he added.
He further called for community-based interventions that address poverty and provide sustainable livelihoods, noting that economic hardship could expose vulnerable populations to drug-related risks.
Citing the agency’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, Marwa said residents previously dependent on illicit cultivation had been supported to develop lawful sources of income.
“In three pilot communities in Ondo State, we worked with the people themselves to build legitimate livelihoods, so that families who once depended on illicit cultivation could earn a dignified, lawful income,” he said.
He added that the initiative was designed in collaboration with community members and that the agency planned to expand the model across the country with support from development partners.
The NDLEA chairman also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign, which targets young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities, as well as its 24-hour toll-free helpline for people seeking assistance.
He urged policymakers and service providers to prioritise women, children, persons with disabilities, survivors of violence, displaced families and other vulnerable groups in mental health and substance abuse interventions.
Marwa said recovery was more likely to be sustained when support extended beyond individuals to include their families and communities.
He called for stronger collaboration among the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors, emphasising that coordinated action was necessary to address Nigeria’s mental health challenges.
The conference, held days after World Mental Health Day, provided an opportunity to move beyond awareness campaigns towards practical interventions, he said.
Marwa urged participants to commit to increased funding, expanded community-based programmes and improved access to treatment.
“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he said.
