Senate Urges Stakeholders to Rework NDLEA Amendment, Pushes Harm-Reduction Review
The Senate has called on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to collaborate on a fresh overhaul of Nigeria’s drug-control legislation, stressing that lawmakers remain open to revisiting the rejected amendment once all constitutional issues are adequately addressed.
This renewed push was conveyed by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, represented by his chief of staff, Charles Luri-Bala, at a technical policy session in Abuja focusing on modernising Nigeria’s response to drug use.
The gathering drew human-rights advocates, policy specialists and civil-society groups to examine alternatives to punitive drug-enforcement practices, with an emphasis on public health, rehabilitation and rights-based approaches.
Bamidele explained that the 10th National Assembly had completed a major review of the 2004 NDLEA Act in an effort to shift Nigeria’s drug regime from punishment-driven enforcement to a framework that prioritises treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration. However, the amendment process stalled in June 2025 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu withheld assent after identifying a constitutional conflict within the bill.
The contentious provision would have allowed the NDLEA to retain a portion of seized assets, contradicting existing financial rules that mandate all forfeited properties and proceeds be remitted to the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account under federal oversight.
The Senate leader reassured the workshop that the president’s rejection should not be interpreted as a dismissal of reform. Instead, he urged the NDLEA, NHRC, experts and civil-society groups to develop revised proposals that simultaneously strengthen harm-reduction objectives and conform fully with constitutional and financial-governance standards.
He noted that any new draft must be robust enough to withstand legal scrutiny while still representing a measurable shift toward evidence-based drug control.
Participants at the forum emphasised the need for a comprehensive statute that expands access to prevention and treatment services, improves institutional accountability and safeguards against rights violations frequently reported in drug-enforcement operations.
They argued that embedding strong compliance mechanisms for asset management would help preserve public trust while enabling the NDLEA to pursue its mandate without undermining constitutional safeguards.
As discussions progress, the next phase is expected to focus on redrafting the disputed clause and refining provisions that promote community-based reintegration, scientific data-driven enforcement and improved oversight. Lawmakers signalled that once stakeholders agree on constitutionally sound language, the Senate would be willing to advance a new version of the amendment for presidential assent.
