In partnership with the UK Border Force, the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the National Crime Agency (NCA) has donated a Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The RHIB is aimed at improving NDLEA’s already effective capability to patrol and intercept vessels of interest and detect criminality that operates in and around the waterways surrounding Lagos.
The deployment of the NDLEA patrol RHIB will also be instrumental in deterring criminals and reducing maritime crime such as drug smuggling, piracy, robbery, and kidnapping.
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The Boat was presented to the NDLEA Chairman on behalf of the government of the UK to General Mohammad Buba Marwa by the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones on the U.S. Consulate General’s Jetty in Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos. The U.S. Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, and the Director of Sea Ports, Omolade Faboyede were also in attendance during the handover.
Smuggling represents a significant risk to Nigeria, which is a major transit route for large volumes of illicit drugs and trafficked people transported by West African organized crime gangs (OCG’s) in sea freight and commercial vessels to Europe. For example, an estimated 125 tonnes of cocaine flows into West Africa each year destined for European markets. And in 2018, 48% of human trafficking victims identified in France were Nigerian, and 80% of all female Nigerian migrants in Italy were likely to fall into the hands of sex traffickers.
In 2020 the UK’s close working relationship with the Nigerian authorities led to the seizure of over 30 tonnes of cocaine, codeine, and tramadol at Nigerian seaports, and 2019approximately 25 tonnes of cocaine seized in the Gulf of Guinea from vessels destined for Nigeria and neighboring West African countries.
Speaking, Head of Mission at the Deputy British High Commission in Lagos, Ben Llewelyn-Jones said, ‘Sadly, we know that Nigeria and specifically Lagos port can be both a destination point and a transit location for illegal goods and the illegal movement of people. We have already seen the significant impact that Nigerian law enforcement can have to tackle these crimes.
‘We saw this effectiveness as recently as November 2020 at a Lagos beach where the NDLEA Marine Unit seized 704 kilos of cannabis from a fishing vessel that had arrived from Ghana. Many of the illegal goods that enter or pass through Nigeria are destined for Europe and the UK. So, it is also in our interest to continue our longstanding co-operation with the NDLEA and other Nigerian law enforcement agencies more broadly.
‘We hope this vessel and the wider effort and support we are giving, working with the NDLEA and other Nigerian agencies, can help to tackle crime effectively and help to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to account. We would like to especially thank the United States of America’s Consulate General for the use of their Jetty for today’s official handover ceremony.’
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
