Nigeria (Commonwealth Union)_ To effectively combat drug trafficking and abuse on the African continent, Nigeria is campaigning for seamless intelligence sharing and more cooperation among African governments. The request was made by Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (ret.), the Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Administration (NDLEA), at the 30th Conference of Heads of Drug Law Enforcement Agencies in Africa (HONLEA) now being held in Nairobi, Kenya.
It was discovered that his opinion garnered widespread support. While addressing the group on Nigeria’s progress in the battle against drug misuse and trafficking, Marwa emphasized the need to establish a national coordination system to enable coordinated action against the issue. According to him, the mobilization of all stakeholders by the national drug focus agency is the starting point.
With this national coordination and joint effort, Nigeria has achieved steady progress in combating drug problems. Between January 2021 and August 2022, a record number of 21,302 suspected drug traffickers, including 28 drug barons, were apprehended. The agency has achieved 3,111 convictions in the area of prosecution and captured 5.4 million kg of illegal drugs.
During his speech, he noted that the HONLEA platform provides huge opportunities, and it is necessary to expand these incredible benefits by supplementing it with a practical form of cooperation, such as the HONLEA Informal Network of Contact Persons. This would allow for frequent bilateral meetings, training programs, the sharing of intelligence, and the conduct of combined operations at the sub-regional and regional levels.
While advocating for regional and sub-regional cooperation, the head of the NDLEA said: “The global drug problem has placed higher demands on countries to work round the clock to achieve this goal and consolidate the achievements recorded. It is on the above premise that my delegation is proposing strengthened collaboration at both regional and sub-regional levels”. In accordance with the notion of common and shared responsibility, he stated that Nigeria has made concrete initiatives to strengthen national and international collaboration in the fight against the global drug issue.
