diff --git a/src/base_alloc/base_alloc.c b/src/base_alloc/base_alloc.c
index 00e58078e..fa4ec46c1 100644
--- a/src/base_alloc/base_alloc.c
+++ b/src/base_alloc/base_alloc.c
@@ -304,12 +304,14 @@ void umf_ba_destroy(umf_ba_pool_t *pool) {
 #ifndef NDEBUG
     ba_debug_checks(pool);
     if (pool->metadata.n_allocs) {
-        LOG_ERR("number of base allocator memory leaks: %zu",
-                pool->metadata.n_allocs);
-
 #ifdef UMF_DEVELOPER_MODE
+        LOG_FATAL("number of base allocator memory leaks: %zu",
+                  pool->metadata.n_allocs);
         assert(pool->metadata.n_allocs == 0 &&
                "memory leaks in base allocator occurred");
+#else
+        LOG_ERR("number of base allocator memory leaks: %zu",
+                pool->metadata.n_allocs);
 #endif
     }
 #endif /* NDEBUG */