By Omoyeni Ojeifo
In a renewed international effort to combat drug trafficking, Nigeria and Egypt are deepening their bilateral cooperation by prioritizing intelligence sharing, joint operations, and collaborative training initiatives.
The details were contained in a statement emailed to Persecondnews on Tuesday by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi.
The planned collaboration came to the fore when Egypt’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohammed Fouad, visited the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa in Abuja, where both sides discussed formalising an MoU to strengthen bilateral efforts against illicit drug trafficking.
Marwa noted that Nigeria’s existing diplomatic ties with Egypt provide an opportunity for both countries to work more closely against the growing threat posed by transnational drug trafficking and substance abuse.
“The drug problem is a global challenge. Nowhere is untouched. The drug menace is everywhere in the world and it is for this reason that we have this kind of collaboration,” he told his visitor.
He said the proposed partnership with Egypt aligns with the NDLEA’s strategy of working with international law enforcement agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, disrupt transnational drug networks and improve enforcement capabilities.
“We are in collaboration with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau of the US, the National Crime Agency of the UK, the UK Border Force, the French Police, the German Criminal Police, our counterparts in the Narcotics Control Bureau of India, Home Office International Operations of the UK and many more.”
Marwa said changing trafficking patterns across the globe require African countries to work more closely to prevent criminal networks from exploiting the continent as an alternative route for illicit drugs.
“We’re very excited that we’re going to collaborate with Egypt through an MoU. We’ve had recent headaches because of the pressure from elsewhere, so the drug cartels are trying to find other alternatives in Africa, but we have to stay united and push them out of our continent,” he said.
To demonstrate the scale of the threat, Marwa pointed to recent operations in which the NDLEA disrupted major methamphetamine production networks linked to foreign drug syndicates operating within Nigeria.
“Barely two months ago, we were able to take down a methamphetamine lab that was worth 362 million dollars. The Mexicans themselves were manufacturing it in Nigeria, in the deep jungle, but we were able to take it down.
“We have also dismantled another meth lab run by some other Mexicans in a different state recently.”
Marwa said formalising the partnership through the proposed MoU would create a stronger institutional framework for sustained cooperation between the anti-narcotics agencies of both countries.
In his earlier address, Amb. Fouad said tackling transnational drug trafficking would require closer cooperation among African countries, adding that Nigeria and Egypt were well positioned to drive such efforts on the continent.
“I think it’s important for Egypt and Nigeria to enhance our bilateral cooperation in this area. Egypt and Nigeria, being the two prominent African countries, should be able to address the challenge of combating narcotics from a continental perspective, which I think is impacting societies all over the continent,” he said.
He added that his visit provided an opportunity for both sides to identify priority areas for cooperation and explore how Egypt could support the NDLEA’s anti-narcotics campaign.
“This visit is basically to discuss with you what we can do together in terms of combating illicit trade and trafficking in narcotics and to learn more about your priorities as an agency and how bilateral cooperation with Egypt can help and support the outstanding job that you’re carrying out here in Nigeria in combating narcotics.”
The proposed MoU is expected to strengthen intelligence exchange, operational collaboration and capacity building between both countries as they intensify efforts to curb transnational drug trafficking and protect communities from the devastating effects of illicit drug substances.
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