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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