The Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has stated that the recent training and certification of officers from the NDLEA’s Marine Command in basic diving, advanced open water diving, and full-face mask diving will discourage large cocaine shipments to Nigeria.
In a statement on Tuesday issued by the Director of Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) selected eight officers from four nations, including two from Nigeria, to attend certification training in Bombinhas City, Brazil in two phases: first in November 2023, and then in July 2024.
The Agency’s Director of Seaports Operations, DCGN Omolade Faboyede, provided Marwa with a report on the training.
Marwa stated that the new capability will send a strong message to international drug cartels, that they have nowhere to hide their illicit consignments on any ship or vessel coming to Nigeria.
The UNODC reports that the diving instruction was started in order to bolster the four nations’ efforts to combat drug trafficking and transnational criminal activity: Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, and Cape Verde.
In order to conduct ship hull searches, enforce the law, and protect public safety in the fight against transnational drug trafficking, professionals certified in basic and advanced diving in public safety diving were required to successfully pass the second phase of the training.
Marwa congratulated the two NDLEA officers who took part in the training and certification program for their outstanding performance, emphasising that the diving training will deter attempts to smuggle illegal narcotics into Nigeria.
He also stated that the agency will be ahead of drug lords in terms of expertise and competence in combating illicit drug importation into Nigeria.
“ Their new ability to dive into the sea to search ship hulls will no doubt discourage global drug networks from attempting to send any large consignment to Nigeria knowing full well that our men now have the capacity to search every nook and cranny of ships and vessels coming to Nigeria.
“We will also continue to expose our officers, men and women to trainings and the use of modern technological tools in our determined bid to keep our country safe by curbing the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking”, said Marwa.