Egyptian Envoy Meets Marwa, Seeks Collaboration with Nigeria on Drug War

Abuja

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has expressed its preparedness to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Egyptian counterpart to facilitate intelligence sharing, joint operations, and training as part of ongoing efforts to curb the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria and Egypt.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), expressed the agency’s readiness to partner the Arab country when the Egyptian ambassador, Mohammed Fouad, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Tuesday.

While stating that the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Egypt had been cordial over the years, Marwa said the global drug challenge had made it imperative for the two countries to build on that relationship by joining forces to fight a common challenge.

According to him, “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.

“We collaborate 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 Narcotics Control Bureau of India, Home Office International Operations of the UK and many more.

“We are, therefore, very excited that we’re going to collaborate with Egypt through an MoU. We’ve had recent headaches, I think 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.”

Marwa cited the recent successes by NDLEA in that regard.

He stated, “They are coming this way from Mexico, and just about two months ago, we were able to take down, a methamphetamine lab, that was worth $362 million.

“The Mexicans themselves were manufacturing it in Nigeria, in the deep jungle, but we’re able to take it down. And we’ve also dismantled another meth lab run by some other Mexicans in a different state recently.

“So, I’m quite happy that Nigeria and Egypt have been working on an MoU to further our cooperation in this very important area. I think signing the MoU will pave the way for a more institutional cooperation between our competent agencies combating narcotics.”

Speaking earlier, the Egyptian ambassador stated the importance of cooperation between both countries to tackle a common challenge.

He said, “Overall, 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.

“So, I’m on this visit to discuss what we can do together in terms of combating illicit trade and trafficking 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.”