NDLEA

Last reviewed Saturday, October 24, 2026

NDLEA stands for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria’s federal agency for drug control. It was set up by decree in December 1989. It is best known for arrests and drug seizures, but the law also gives it a counselling and rehabilitation role, and it runs counselling centres at its state commands and a free 24-hour helpline.

Also called: the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (its full name), or “the Agency” in its own statements.

What the NDLEA does

Enforcement. It investigates, arrests and prosecutes drug offences under the NDLEA Act (Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), from growing and dealing to trafficking and possession. Dealing can carry life imprisonment. Its officers work at airports and seaports, and it traces and recovers money made from drugs.
Prevention. Its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign runs talks, clubs and events in schools, markets, motor parks and communities.
Counselling and rehabilitation. It offers counselling and residential rehabilitation at its state commands, and helps people return to family, school and work. People who are physically dependent, or who have another mental health condition, are referred on to other treatment centres.
Drug tests. It runs drug integrity tests and visa clearance checks, which can now be applied for online.

The law may change. The President refused assent to an amendment in June 2025. In mid-October 2026 he sent the Senate a new NDLEA Bill 2026, which would replace the NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act with one law, and the Senate referred it to its Committee on Rules and Business.

In Nigeria: the agency that arrests also treats

That double role is a real barrier. Fear of arrest keeps many people, and their families, from asking for help at all. Substances many people use, such as tramadol, codeine cough syrup, cannabis and methamphetamine, fall under its remit. In the 2018 national drug use survey, about 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15 to 64 had used a drug in the past year. That counts use, not addiction.

Families often ask whether they can force someone into treatment. Coerced admission is legally and clinically fraught, and outcomes tend to be better when the person has a say. Nigeria’s Mental Health Act requires written consent for treatment, with strict rules for the exceptions, and bans chaining. International standards from the UN’s drug office and WHO say treatment should not be forced, and the NDLEA’s own 2021 guidelines require written consent for a residential stay.

Getting confidential help for drug use

The NDLEA helpline, 0800 1020 3040. Free and open 24 hours, in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. Counsellors talk things through and refer callers to services nearby. We found no official statement on how the agency handles what callers tell it, so if fear of arrest is stopping you, start with one of the options below.
A doctor or hospital. If you or the person you’re worried about is physically dependent, start with a medical assessment, for example at the psychiatry department of a teaching hospital. Stopping some substances suddenly, alcohol in particular, can be dangerous without medical care.
A licensed therapist. Therapy is confidential, with narrow exceptions such as a serious risk to your life or someone else’s, or a court order. Nigeria has no general law that makes a therapist report a crime they hear about, and asking for help with your own drug use isn’t something a therapist has to report. Read when a therapist can break confidentiality.

NDLEA vs NAFDAC

NAFDAC regulates medicines and food: it registers products and can stop or recall them, as it did when it halted the production of codeine cough syrups in 2018. The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria regulates pharmacies and patent medicine shops. The NDLEA enforces the drug law against growing, dealing, trafficking and possession. A tramadol case can involve more than one of them.

When to get help

If someone may have taken too much of a drug, or is hard to wake, call 112 (or 767 in Lagos) now. If you or someone else is thinking about suicide, call 112 (or 767 in Lagos), or Safe Place Nigeria on 0800 800 2000. The full list is on our helplines page.

For the longer work of cutting down, stopping or staying stopped, a substance use therapist on Mytherapist.ng can help alongside medical care. If you’re worried about your child, start with a family doctor or the school counsellor, and you can book therapy for yourself as a parent.

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