NDLEA strengthens airport defenses against illicit drug trade

Stanley Ihedigbo

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is taking significant steps to enhance its operational efficiency at Nigeria’s major airports.

Recently, selected commanders and officers underwent advanced training in Advance Passenger Information Systems (API) and Passenger Targeting/Intelligence Gathering.

According to the Director, Media & Advocacy , NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), facilitated the trainings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Abuja, the workshops were designed to enhance the capacity of the Agency’s Commands at Airports to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo and mail, to help combat illicit drug trafficking.

They will also help to facilitate communication and coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination to destabilise illicit cross-border flows and criminal networks.

While the Commander of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Strategic Command of NDLEA, ACGN Usman Ali Wadar and his counterpart at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, CN Mohammed Ajiya participated in the six-day training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 13 other officers drawn from the MMIA and NAIA Commands took part in the five-day training that held in Abuja.

They are all expected to impact the knowledge and skills acquired during the sessions on their other colleagues.

The trainings were funded by the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States under the AIRCOP Airport Communication Project, implemented by the UNODC.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the facilitators, Ms. Fabienne Russel of UNODC and Anderson Leme Siqueira of Brazilian Customs Administration for taking their time to be in Abuja for the training after the engagement in Abidjan.

He equally praised the two NDLEA Commanders and other officers who participated in the Abijan and Abuja training sessions for their interest and commitment.

He charged them to immediately reflect the new skills and tools in their operations across the international airports in the country.