The United
States government has donated seven vehicles and a variety of technical
equipment to the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as part of its
continued support for the counter-narcotics agency.
U.S. Consul
General John Bray, who made the donation today at a brief ceremony in Lagos,
emphasised the importance of law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. and
Nigeria in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse in the country.
“We are
pleased to support the NDLEA in its efforts to fight drug trafficking. We share
the same objective of ridding our societies of the harmful effects of narcotics
trafficking and illicit drug use,” said Bray, who handed over the vehicles to
the NDLEA Director of Training and Manpower Development, Dr Linus Opara.
The items
and equipment included three Honda Accord vehicles, three Toyota Hilux trucks,
one Toyota Hiace van, a Smith Detection body scan unit, and 16 laptop
computers. Others are 16 i2 analyst
notebook software, 20 digital cameras, five electric bill counters, and 25
battery power supply backups.
A statement
from the embassy said the vehicles and equipment were funded through the United
States Africa Command (AFRICOM) Counter-narcotics and Transnational Threats Program
(CTTP). Since the establishment of the
NDLEA in 1990, the U.S. Mission to Nigeria has partnered with the agency and
has increased its bilateral assistance for combatting narcotics trafficking in
Nigeria. In the past four years, the
United States has provided more than US$10 million in training and equipment to
the NDLEA.
In May 2016,
the U.S. government donated 11 pick-up trucks and transport vans to the agency,
bringing to 18 the total number of vehicles donated to the agency within the
last 18 months. The U.S. Consulate
General in Lagos, in partnership with the U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM)
and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, has
sponsored over 100 training courses since 2013 for the NDLEA and trained 1,580
students. The personnel have received
training in intelligence, evidence collection, management skills, tactical
skills, and instructor training.
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