NDLEA BOSS

U.S. to continue to engage with FG on drug trafficking, corruption.

The U.S. Government has said it will continue to engage with the Federal Government on the issues of drug trafficking, corruption and money laundering, among other crimes.
This was contained in the 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report said the underlying institutional and societal factors contributing to these criminal activities in Nigeria remained deep-seated and required a comprehensive and collaborative effort at all levels of law enforcement and government.
It said progress could only occur through sustained government efforts and political will with continued support from the international community.
The report noted that corruption played a major role in drug trafficking in Nigeria.
According to the report, the government does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
Nigeria has anti-corruption laws, but authorities can point to only a few notable convictions, including that of a former NDLEA Chief.
These cases, however, remain the exception to the rule. Frequent media reports of high-level corruption that goes unpunished send the message that, by deft use of corruption, criminals can operate with impunity in Nigeria.
To address some weaknesses in Nigeria’s criminal code, the NDLEA has sought amendments to Nigeria’s basic narcotics law during the past 10 years, to provide stricter mandatory sentences for major traffickers, but the National Assembly has failed to act.’’
It said in spite of the recent budget increase for NDLEA, government funding for Nigerian law enforcement agencies remained insufficient.
According to the report, unless the government remedies the situation, little progress will occur over the medium to long term.
The report pledged that the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Affairs and Drug Enforcement Administration Country Offices in Nigeria would work closely with the NDLEA and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen capacity.
The Embassy INL Office also promotes greater cooperation between the Nigeria Customs Service and the NDLEA to improve interdiction at the vulnerable seaports and porous land borders.’’
It observed that in addition to the traditional use of marijuana in Nigeria, the abuse of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin had risen.
Traffickers have followed a well-known pattern of pushing drugs into the transit country’s domestic market.
The NDLEA’s Demand Reduction Directorate has reinvigorated its school-oriented programmes and other programmes targeting youths, professional truck/bus drivers, sex workers, community leaders, and transport workers.''
It noted that last year, the NDLEA counselled and rehabilitated 1,708 drug dependent persons of which more than 95 per cent were involved in marijuana use.
The report noted that the U. S. Embassy's INL office donated digital body scanners and drug/explosives-detecting “itemisers” for Nigeria’s four international airports in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt in 2008.
INL has also sent many NDLEA airport commanders to training at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana.
NDLEA has made good use of this technology and training. Most of NDLEA’s hard drug seizures such as cocaine and heroin occur at the airports, with the vast majority occurring at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Still, NDLEA faces challenges arresting major drug traffickers and financiers who organise the regular traffic of low level drug mules.”
According to the report, until recently, authorities have not systematically used asset seizures from traffickers and money launderers as enforcement tools.
It also noted that NDLEA reported no money laundering convictions in 2011, stressing that asset forfeiture remained challenging in Nigeria, which lacks non-conviction-based forfeiture or plea bargaining laws.
The report added that without an appropriate plea bargaining mechanism, NDLEA would encounter difficulty winning cooperation from low-level couriers to build cases against criminal gang bosses.
It urged the agency to continue to pursue an aggressive and successful eradication campaign, which destroyed 690.6 hectares of marijuana cultivation between January and September 2011, almost 1.75 times the 395.3 hectares eradicated in 2010.