Following a strategic visit of President Bola Tinubu to France, both countries have decided to extend their collaboration to areas of tackling drug trafficking, as the French government has assured the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of more collaboration and support regarding these concerns.
This assurance was provided when Phillipe Crespo, the French Police Attaché in Nigeria, led a team on a courtesy visit to the NDLEA in Abuja on Saturday.
The visit came after the Strike Force Unit officers at the NDLEA Academy in Jos completed their third special operations training.
Speaking during the tour, Crespo praised Buba Marwa, the head of NDLEA, for the friendly welcome the French team always received.
In his resolute attempt to combat the evils of substance misuse and illegal drug trafficking in Nigeria, he also praised Marwa’s readiness to work with both domestic and foreign partners.
He claimed that the NDLEA’s efforts were successful in protecting communities abroad as well as Nigerians in Nigerian cities.
He said that this was due to the agency’s interdiction activities, which had resulted in the massive interception of various illegal drug shipments bound for Europe and other countries. But in the coming year, he suggested that the expanding collaboration be recorded in a memorandum of understanding.
In his remarks, the NDLEA boss expressed appreciation to the French government for its support and partnership.
“I remember in 2022 when I visited the headquarters of RAID in France on the invitation, and I made a request for this type of training; I never knew it was something that would come so fast and this consistently. Soon after that visit, a team of experts was sent to train our personnel, and I am glad this is the third such exercise,” he said.
“The drug problem is huge and worldwide, and as such, we require global partnership, collaboration, and every bit of expertise we can acquire to confront the drug cartels and put an end to their activities, which pose a direct threat to public health and the security of countries across the globe.
“It is therefore a thing of joy that our collaboration is not just growing at the level of drug law enforcement, but we can see the growing partnership between our two leaders: President Bola Tinubu and President Emmanuel Macron; our governments and our countries; this will in no small measure bring great benefits to both sides,” Marwa stated.
