The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will inflict maximum loss on drug cartels bent on trafficking illicit substances at the detriment of Nigeria and Nigerians.
In his remarks at a brief ceremony held at the NDLEA National Headquarters in Abuja, the chairman of the NDLEA Brig-Gen Gen Mohammed Marwa (Rtd) expressed his delight at the decision by the two government agencies to document their working relationship in an MoU, which he said will look at the ways of stopping illicit drugs trafficking in the country.
Marwa commended the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) for his excellent record of performance as Customs CG and his past years of public service in the Nigerian army, especially as military governor of Kaduna state.
“I have always known Col. Ali as a patriotic, hardworking and disciplined officer with an excellent track record of achievements,” he added.
According to him, “this is certainly a benchmark for information and or intelligence sharing. It is also a platform for sharing operational and administrative experiences with a view to adopting best practices that work.
“With this united front, there can only be one assurance that the criminal elements in our society will definitely be the losers and I assure you that they will certainly lose big as we come for them to put them where they rightly belong and cripple their crime syndicates.
“While there is no doubt as to the benefits that this MoU will provide to our two services and the nation at large, it is my hope that its successful implementation will provide the necessary impetus for the extension to other sister law enforcement agencies operating at our airports, seaports and land borders.
“On this basis, it is imperative to drive the implementation of the MoU to ensure that its objectives and derivable are achieved”, he said and assured that the NDLEA will be committed to the MoU and intend to provide all the necessary support required to drive the implementation process in order to ensure the realization of all accruable benefits.”
While stating the great significance of the MoU, Marwa said the document contains a number of innovations that will encourage interpersonal relationships amongst the rank and file as well as at the various levels of command and administration of the two organizations.
“It provides for joint training of personnel just as it makes provisions for regular meetings of command officers at various levels of our command structures. These are the meetings of Commanders/Comptrollers of the various relevant formations, at the relevant directorates/departments of the national headquarters and at the highest level of policy-making between the Comptroller-General of Customs and my office, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, which is expected to take place at least twice a year.
“The expected outcome of these series of interactions is to foster a better understanding of the respective roles and mandates of our two organizations and how they complement one another in a mutually inclusive way.
“The ultimate objective is to dissolve suspicion, friction and general interagency rivalry that does not do our nation any good in terms of effectively securing the entry and exit points of our dear country. This will provide an effective defence line at our various ports of entry/exit to prevent the influx of offensive materials and substances that undermine our national security and ensure that our national assets are not smuggled out to undermine our economic progress and stability,” the NDLEA boss stated.
In his own remarks, the Customs boss, who commended Gen. Marwa for initiating the MoU said, Marwa was a notable committed leader all through his years in public service.
According to Ali, “This MoU is sending a very strong signal to fighting crime. We believe that coming together shows commitment to saving this nation from drugs and other substances.
“I want to reiterate that our coming together does not send a signal only to our nation but to the international partners, that we are committed to protecting our borders from illicit drugs. We have all along been doing this, finding drugs in the borders, but thank God the sole responsibility has been removed from us, and we had some relief.
“What we do now is that when we arrest the suspects, we hand them over to the NDLEA, where they will be pursued, investigated, and punished severely. The coming of Marwa has given us confidence that the suspects will be handled accordingly.”
He expressed the commitment of the Nigerian Customs Service to the implementation of the MoU, saying, “We are indeed very grateful, to have been incorporated in this your thought and want to assure that the entire Customs will be behind this MoU. I want to believe that collaboration will make an impact in reducing to the barest minimum the drug menace.”
While stressing the need for both NDLEA and the Customs to invest in technology to fight the drug menace, the Customs boss said, “Both of us must ensure we deploy technology as we go into this commitment, to fighting the drug menace. It is the key to success, as methods of concealment are numerous, with other illicit drugs put in pockets, shoes, and edible foods.”
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