Succour may have come the way of the
financially handicapped national anti drug law agency of the oil rich Nigeria,
the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency and their operatives who have not gone on training in the last decade,
following the paucity of funds that has crippled the agency’s activities.
The Federal Ministry of Justice and Attorney
General of the federation in charge of the agency and the federal government
have neglected the agency in terms of budgetary allocation meant for the
running of the agency.
It was gathered that because of the poor
funds allocation, the staffers of the agency had not gone for training and that
there Jos training school, in Plateau State is like the Police College in
Ikeja, Lagos.
Early August, while delivering his address at
a business meeting of the Rotary Club of Lagos which took place in Ikoyi, Femi
Ajayi, Director General of the NDLEA, said the problem of underfunding has
continued to cripple the activities of the agency despite all powers granted to
her to control drug abuse.
“Despite the fact, that Section 41, of the
NDLEA, Act, Cap N.30, empowers the agency and her officers to enter into any
premises and conduct search without warrant in the course of their duties upon
a reasonable suspicion of the commission of a drug offence as well as Sections
4 and 43 of the NDLEA Act that empower the agency to, on the respective
approval of either the President or Attorney-General of the Federation,
investigate anybody who appears to be living beyond his apparent source of
income, the NDLEA has always been confronted with various challenges which
include poor funding, inadequate equipment and poor staffing.
In an
interview with Daily Newswatch recently, the DG lamented over the poor funding
of the agency and said the entire agency’s responsibilities have been affected.
“It is rather absurd that in a nation of
about 160 million populations, the staff strength of NDLEA is still below 5,300
for the entire country with a lot of borders, legal and illegal entries, which
have led to increase in criminality in the area of drug abuse,” he said.
Ajayi
noted that before now, Nigeria was just taken for a passage of drugs, but the
NDLEA has discovered five different clandestine laboratories where drugs are
being produced. According to him, in the last 30 years, Nigeria has moved from
small player to major player in drug production and consumption.
“Nigeria is now known for trafficking in
drugs and production of the substances, and unless more money is pumped into
the agency, drug control would be compromised, the work force would be
compromised while the future of the youth is put in jeopardy.
“It is
pertinent to point out that by the nature of her functions; NDLEA has the
responsibility of safeguarding the health of Nigerians, contributing to
maintenance of peace and security in the nation, as well as promoting and
enhancing the country’s international image and integrity to attract support
and investments. These have led to granting of special powers to the agency to
enable her discharge her mandate,” Ajayi said.
Due to lack of training and retraining of the
officers, the United States Government has offered to organize twenty-seven
training courses for officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) in 2014.
This was made known by Mr. Mark Huebschman,
United States Deputy Chief, Counter-narcotics and Law Enforcement Division,
Africa Command. The US envoy who spoke during a working visit to the Agency’s
Headquarters on Shaw Road Ikoyi, Lagos, said that the training is part of
United States assistance to Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking.
“The United States will fund twenty-seven
(27) training courses for the NDLEA in 2014. This will cover senior leadership,
middle cadre as well as tactical training. Our training advisor in Nigeria will
work with the Agency in developing the training schedule. It is an elaborate training
and we hope to enlist the support of willing international partners.” Mark
stated.
Receiving the United States delegation, the
Director General of the NDLEA Mr. Femi Ajayi thanked the United States
Government for their continuous support for Nigeria’s counter-narcotics
campaign.
According to the DG, “the threat of drug
trafficking is increasing by the day. The discovery of five methamphetamine
laboratories in the country is also disturbing. The fact that methamphetamine
seizures are still being made at the airports is an indication that there might
be more of such laboratories. This calls for greater collaboration among
nations”.
Ajayi therefore appealed to the envoy to
further assist the NDLEA in the area of advocacy.
“We are thankful for the scanners and
technical support provided by your government to the Agency. Let me also seek
your assistance in the area of advocacy. This will encourage more governments,
institutions, donor organizations and individuals to partner with us in
addressing the problem of illicit drugs. We are currently doing more with less
resource”, Ajayi stated.
The US envoy was accompanied by Michael
Burner, training advisor for West Africa. Others are, Amon Killeen and Ellen
Kitt both of the US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense,
Counter-narcotics and Global Threats.
Ofoyeju Mitchell, Head, Public Affairs of the
NDLEA stated that the programme would commence next year and praised the United
State for their assistance.
It would recall that the NDLEA and the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) signed a memorandum of understanding in
2012 to establish a vetted unit of 14 officers to exclusively work with DEA.
The unit has begun operations.
Nigeria’s counter-narcotics policy derives
from a 1998 National Drug Control Master Plan.
However, the NDLEA’s budget is inadequate to
implement the plan. As at 2011, the government held NDLEA’s budget at its 2011
level of approximately $61 million. Of this, 0.02 percent, or approximately
$140,497 is allocated for NDLEA staff training. Personnel costs account for
92.4 percent of the NDLEA’s budget, while one percent supports capital
expenditures.
Despite NDLEA’s robust achievement in the
last 23 years, Nigerian government funding for the Agency remains insufficient.
In 2012, the United States facilitated the training of 30 NDLEA officers
assigned to Nigeria’s four international airports to enhance detection of drug
couriers, and donated an additional body scanner for MMIA; the NDLEA now has
one scanner dedicated for arrivals and another for departures courtesy of the
US.
The United States works closely with the
NDLEA and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen capacity. The United
States also promotes greater cooperation between the Nigeria Customs Service
and the NDLEA to improve interdiction at the vulnerable seaports and porous
land borders.
In
2012, the United States funded a counter-narcotics advisor and DEA established
its elite vetted unit, both of which will help to improve the NDLEA’s ability
to conduct complex cases. The United States facilitated the transfer of vessels
and provided a wide range of maritime operational and small boat maintenance
training to assist in building Nigeria’s maritime law enforcement capability.
Three weeks, the United States Jeffery
Hawkins promised that US will continue to engage the Government of Nigeria to
combat drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and other criminal
issues. Counter Narcotics and Drug Enforcement Advisor
Barley a month ago, USA on Tuesday August 27,
2013 at the Conference room of the Agency’s Headquarters on Shaw Road Ikoyi,
Lagos State, donated equipment to the NDLEA. United States Consul General,
Lagos, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins described Nigeria as a great partner of the United
States in drug control.
The US envoy spoke while presenting technical
equipment to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos, and
said that the equipment would be used in the establishment of a Centre for
intelligence sharing between the two countries.
“NDLEA is a great partner for the United
States in drug control. The United States embarks on serious war against
narcotics and we are proud to contribute in developing the capacity of the
NDLEA through the establishment of a Centre for intelligence sharing” Hawkins
stated.
Chairman of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade who
received the items said that the country’s partnership with the United States
has been very fruitful.
“The relationship between the United States
Government and the Government of Nigeria has been characterized by similar
gestures in the area of technical support. It is important to acknowledge your
sustained determination to support Nigeria in winning the fight against
notorious drug trafficking syndicates. This assistance to the Agency is highly
treasured” Giade stated.
The NDLEA boss attributed the high
performance of the Agency to the growing support and partnership it has with
the United States. He stated:
“Our collaboration in the area of
intelligence gathering and joint operations has undisputedly led to high
profile seizures and arrests. Training remains vital to the success of any
intelligence-driven task like drug control. Your training programmes for
operatives as well as high level seminars and workshops have helped greatly to
enhance the capacity of personnel. We are appreciative of your support and
highly motivated by your continued determination to extend our frontiers of
success in the drug war”.
According to him, “the Agency’s investigative
capacity at the airports has been greatly enhanced with the provision of
scanners by the United States Government”.
He
vowed that the Agency would continue to justify the confidence the US repose in
the Agency. While appreciating the removal of Nigeria from the Drug Majors List
by the US, he equally called on the envoy to assist the Agency in advocacy
campaign.
“The prompt and objective assessment by the
United States Government which led to the removal of Nigeria from the “Drug
Majors List” has further increased the tempo of our campaign. We hope we can
count on your advocacy support to ensure that more attention and resources are
devoted to the all-important war against drug abuse and illicit drug
trafficking” Giade stated.
In 2012, the United States Government donated
a set of body scanner to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for use at the
Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos. The then US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence
McCauley, handed over the scanner to the Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA,
Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, at the MMIA.
He said, “Drug trafficking is a global
problem that requires a global solution. Narcotics trafficking is a
multibillion dollar a year business that destroys the lives of countless
people, especially the youth. We will continue to fight side-by-side with you
against this scourge.
“And in this spirit of cooperation, it gives
me great pleasure to be with you today to dedicate an important new tool in
Nigeria’s anti-drug trafficking arsenal-a second full body scanner for MMIA,
that will enable NDLEA colleagues to perform quick, non-evasive searches of
suspected drug traffickers and to locate illegal drugs or other contraband.
This second scanner will enable NDLEA to have one scanner dedicated to arriving
passengers, and one for departing passengers.” He stated.
Giade
while receiving the scanner, expressed Nigeria’s gratitude for the scanner, and
said the agency would not relent in its efforts to combat the drug trafficking
business in the nation’s airport.
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