By Adedapo Adesanya
The United States government and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have announced a project to strengthen the forensic and chemical analysis capacity of the drug enforcement agency as well as its intelligence gathering and prosecution capabilities.
This was disclosed by NDLEA’s spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, who noted that the support was from the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
It came on the heels of an award of N500 million grant received by the agency from the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative to fund selected projects.
He explained that the US support resulted from requests by NDLEA’s Chairman, Mr Buba Marwa, during meetings with top US officials in Abuja and Washington, DC.
He added that the award letter stated that the project would be implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria.
Aside from the support for the forensic and chemical analysis capacity of the agency, the US government said, “the project will further support NDLEA’s efforts to conduct intelligence-led investigations.
“This will be through diverse resources as well as legal books and an e-library for prosecution and other legal needs of the agency.
“Through all these, the NDLEA will be better equipped to prosecute cases with reliable evidence, using improved collection, handling, and custodial procedures.
“We appreciate our strong and continued working relationship and believe this project will be an important step in advancing our shared goal of a united, peaceful, and stable Nigeria.”
Modupe Gbadeyanka