The United Kingdom Home Office International Operations (HOIO) has praised its collaboration with Nigeria in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking, citing positive outcomes from the partnership.
This acknowledgment came during a courtesy visit by the Head of UK Home Office International Operations, Victoria Pullen, alongside her colleague, Kristoffer Hawksfield, to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), in Abuja on Monday.
Pullen expressed her gratitude for the “excellent cooperation” between the two entities. She stated, “The issue of drug trafficking is a huge global issue, and like many big challenges such as drug trafficking, it takes a huge global effort to try and counter that.
I think it’s evident by some of the recent successes and the volume of some of the illicit commodities that your teams are finding that that cooperation is working exceptionally well currently, and we are currently really enjoying working with your team on those successes.”
Highlighting the collaborative spirit, Pullen added, “The willingness of your teams to work with us and do things differently and try things differently, which fortunately is leading to those successes, and we like the way that you’ve worked with the UK and the levels of engagement that we’ve enjoyed with the teams.”
She also noted the significance of the commissioning of the NDLEA Marine Command Headquarters, built and donated by the UK government in Lagos last week, as a marker of their cooperation.
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“We look forward to seeing the results of that level of investment that will bring significant benefits to you in Nigeria by being able to stop those drugs from permeating your own society, and also in the global space because the more that we help you to interdict and take out of the system here, the less that’s going into countries around the world and into society,” she remarked.
In response, Marwa expressed his appreciation to the UK government for its support in combating illicit drug trafficking.
“I am most delighted to meet Ms Victoria Pullen in person, as it gives me the opportunity to express profound gratitude on behalf of myself, the agency and the country for the tremendous assistance, both tangible and intangible, that we have received from the Home Office International Operations (HOIO), in particular, and the British Government in general.”
He noted the recent commissioning of the Marine Command Headquarters and mentioned a similar operational facility established at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos last year. “These are in addition to others like training and intelligence that are vital to our counter-narcotics operations,” he stated.
Marwa called for continued support from the UK government, emphasizing the need for further collaboration in combating drug trafficking. “We continue to seek more of your assistance in our quest to combat illicit drug trafficking on our shores and also to contribute to our common goal in fighting the activities of transnational criminal organizations.
The new refreshed MOU, which we are about to sign after the remarks, is a testament to our strong partnership, and we are looking forward to boosting our existing relationship to help us achieve our common and shared responsibility of tackling the drug problem.”
He also highlighted the NDLEA‘s accomplishments over the past three years, stating, “We have made, in three years, over 52,000 arrests. We have made seizures of over 8,000 tons of illicit substances and convictions in excess of 9,000.
That’s a very significant success in court.” Marwa underscored the importance of intelligence sharing, especially given the volume of travel between the UK and Nigeria, expressing excitement about signing the new Memorandum of Understanding.
As the collaboration continues, both parties are optimistic about the future of their partnership in tackling the pervasive issue of drug trafficking.
