The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, will now be able to access the criminal databases of 189 countries around the world in its drive to combat narcotic crimes in Nigeria.
The access came after the agency signed a MoU with the International Criminal Police Organization, popularly known as Interpol.
According to a press release by the NDLEA, its chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa signed for his agency while the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the National Central Bureau and Vice President, Interpol Africa, Garba Baba Umar, endorsed the document on behalf of Interpol.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the NCB secretariat, Force Headquarters Abuja on Wednesday, 5th October 2022, Marwa reminded the audience that drug business is international in scope while the scourge of drug abuse has continued to destroy lives, youths, families and communities.
“As we are after the drug cartels and barons, we are not under the illusion that they won’t be after us but we are always steps ahead of them. This is why all security agencies must collaborate to fight the cartels, whether in Nigeria or anywhere in the world. We are therefore happy that the signing of this MoU allows us access to contribute and benefit from criminal data records of 195 countries globally”, the retired general stated.
He commended the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman for providing good leadership for the Nigeria Police and his commitment to partner with NDLEA in the fight against illicit drugs in Nigeria.
Marwa also cited the IGP’s memo to all police formations across the country to always transfer drug cases to NDLEA across the states for investigation and prosecution, as a mark of such collaboration.
AIG Garba Umar commended Marwa for transforming NDLEA to a ground breaking agency within a short time of his assumption of office. He called for more support for the anti-narcotics agency from all relevant stakeholders especially security agencies.
He emphasised how the MoU will contribute to the success of NDLEA operations.