The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mohamed Marwa, has warned that drug and mental illness reinforce each other, calling for greater investment in mental healthcare and rehabilitation.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said treating drug abuse without addressing underlying mental health conditions could undermine efforts to tackle substance abuse in Nigeria.

He spoke at the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

The conference, led by UK-based consultant psychiatrist Vincent Udenze, focused on strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action in mental healthcare.

He stated, “For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence. In my work at the NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily. 

“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause.”

Mr Marwa said mental wellbeing cannot thrive where hopelessness and poverty drive people into harm. 

He added that providing people with hope, income and a stake in their future could ease stress, stabilise families and strengthen communities.

“Your theme speaks of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action. At the NDLEA, these are not abstract ideas. They are things we have done. Mental wellbeing cannot thrive where hopelessness and poverty drive people into harm,” he said. 

Mr Marwa also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, targeting young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities.

He said the agency’s 24-hour toll-free helpline provides support for people experiencing drug-related challenges and their families.

The NDLEA chairman disclosed that more than 53,843 people had received treatment at the agency’s 31 rehabilitation facilities across the country in the past five years.

“Behind that number are fathers returning to their families and young people returning to school and work,” he said.

He warned that mental healthcare should not remain neglected in government health budgets, stressing that investment in prevention, trained personnel and accessible treatment would contribute to productivity, safer communities and stronger families.

“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he added.