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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that turns their existing cooperation into a structured strategic alliance against transnational drug trafficking networks operating along the Nigeria-Australia route.
The agreement was signed yesterday, November 2026, at the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the pact as “a declaration of war against transnational drug cartels that think they can hide between continents.”
He said the AFP’s global reach, combined with the NDLEA’s operational doggedness, would make the route “extremely hostile and unprofitable for traffickers.”
Under the MoU, the two agencies will cooperate in four key areas: information and intelligence exchange, joint and coordinated operations, capacity building and professional development, and controlled delivery.
Marwa said the agreement was coming at a time when drug trafficking had become highly transnational, organised and sophisticated, with Nigerian organised crime groups increasingly linked to the Australia-Pacific route, particularly for methamphetamine and cocaine.
“Nigeria is being exploited as a transit and sourcing hub, but no single country can fight this alone,” he said.
He expressed hope that the renewable MoU would lead to major joint seizures, arrests of high-value targets and successful controlled deliveries, adding that the agencies looked forward to immediate implementation.
The NDLEA boss pointed to recent successes that underline the need for the partnership.
These include the seizure of 184.5 kilograms of cocaine meant for export, and the dismantling of four methamphetamine laboratories, with Mexican nationals embedded in them, in recent months.
One of the laboratories yielded seizures valued at over 360 million US dollars.
He also cited the dismantling of the Switzerland-based cartel of a Nigerian, Simon Amadi, after more than a year of joint work with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and police in France, Greece and Switzerland. Amadi’s assets in Nigeria have also been targeted.
Leading the AFP delegation, Sandra Booth said the fight against drugs is a whole-of-society problem that demands a whole-of-society solution.
She commended the NDLEA for tackling the entire spectrum of the problem, from prevention to enforcement, and praised its relationships with other countries, many of which are also AFP partners.
She said the partnership would serve as “a force multiplier” against “this abhorrent trade.”
Booth explained that organised crime groups increasingly use drug proceeds to fund other serious offences under a “crime as a service” model, drawing young and vulnerable people into delivering and transporting drugs and even carrying out violent attacks on rivals.
Beyond addiction, broken families and destabilised communities, she said, the trade is fuelling more violence, gangland wars and deaths in Australia.
“Whilst Nigeria is a transit country, we are a destination country. And unfortunately for us, people will pay a lot of money for the commodity,” she said, adding that Australia wants to help prevent drug trafficking to the country and protect its youth and vulnerable people.
“It is so absolutely necessary that we work together as a team, that we are forceful, that we are committed, that we show integrity, and we hunt as a pack. And I am very proud that we can now be part of your pack,” she said.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Leilani Bin-Juda; the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Timothy Milikan; AFP delegation members Andrea Humphrys and Susan Gray; and top NDLEA management officials.
