NDLEA, US-DEA deepen partnership against narco-terrorism in Abuja

By: Zagazola Makama 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (US-DEA) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation aimed at dismantling drug cartels and cutting off financial lifelines to terrorism and other organised crimes.

This was the central message at the opening of a strategic counter-narcotics workshop held on Tuesday at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja, where both agencies pledged deeper operational alignment against transnational drug trafficking networks.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the collaboration was both timely and strategic, noting that drug trafficking had become a critical enabler of global insecurity, including terrorism.

Marwa said the workshop was designed to harmonise intelligence, strengthen operational coordination, and produce a joint action plan to guide counter-narcotics efforts over the next 12 months.

According to him, the evolving nature of the global drug trade has made international cooperation indispensable, especially as criminal networks adapt to intensified enforcement in other regions.

He noted that West Africa, including Nigeria, had increasingly become a transit route for illicit drugs destined for Europe, North America and Asia.

Marwa warned that the proceeds of drug trafficking were directly linked to the financing of terrorist and violent extremist organisations, a phenomenon he described as “narco-terrorism”.

“The proceeds from the poison sold on our streets are the same funds used to purchase the weapons that destabilise our regions,” he said, adding that targeting drug networks was therefore essential to weakening terrorist financing structures.

He also observed that Nigeria’s strategic location had made it vulnerable to increased activities of international drug trafficking organisations, stressing the need for coordinated global action.

Marwa assured that the NDLEA remained fully committed to sustaining its partnership with the US-DEA, noting that the outcomes of the workshop would serve as an operational guide for future engagements.

He expressed optimism that the collaboration would yield measurable results in disrupting trafficking routes, dismantling criminal enterprises, and strengthening institutional capacity.

“The success of this workshop will not be measured merely by the quality of discussions, but by the effectiveness of the actions we take afterward,” he said.

In her remarks, US-DEA Country Attaché in Nigeria, Ms. Daphne Morrison, commended the NDLEA for its operational successes, describing recent seizures, arrests and convictions as evidence of sustained institutional commitment under Marwa’s leadership.

Morrison said the partnership between both agencies was crucial in addressing evolving transnational drug threats, noting that the workshop marked a renewed commitment to intelligence sharing and joint operations.

“This workshop is not merely a meeting—it is a declaration of our unified stand against transnational criminal organisations that seek to turn Nigeria into a drug trafficking hub,” she said.

She added that the focus of the collaboration for 2026 would include strengthening intelligence exchange, disrupting financial networks of drug cartels, and targeting high-level actors within criminal syndicates.

Morrison also emphasised that the strength of the partnership lay in shared responsibility and coordinated action, urging participants to develop practical and innovative strategies for joint implementation.

The NDLEA, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the workshop underscored the agency’s commitment to international cooperation in combating drug trafficking and related crimes.

It said the engagement with the US-DEA would further enhance Nigeria’s capacity to address the growing threat of drug-fuelled insecurity across the region.