Nigeria and UAE agree to deepen cooperation against drug trafficking
Nigeria’s NDLEA and the United Arab Emirates’ National Drug Enforcement Authority have signed an agreement to expand intelligence-sharing and joint enforcement against drug networks. The pact also includes technical cooperation and guidance for Nigerian travellers on substances prohibited under UAE law.
Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation against transnational drug trafficking. The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the UAE’s National Drug Enforcement Authority on the sidelines of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, according to an NDLEA statement issued by spokesperson Femi Babafemi. NDLEA chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said the pact would deepen intelligence-sharing and joint enforcement operations along the Nigeria-UAE corridor.
He said the agreement followed years of engagement between the two agencies and reflected the need to disrupt networks using the countries’ strong travel and trade links. Marwa said Nigerian authorities intercepted about 354.7kg of illicit drugs, including cocaine, cannabis, tramadol, rohypnol, ecstasy and khat, in consignments destined for the UAE between 2021 and 2026. The seizures led to the arrest and prosecution of 47 suspects, he said.
The new partnership is expected to build on existing exchanges of liaison personnel, operational intelligence and technical expertise. The UAE will also provide Nigerian travellers with a comprehensive list of prohibited items, with the stated aim of preventing inadvertent breaches of its drug laws. Marwa said the NDLEA had arrested more than 91,000 suspects and secured 16,469 convictions between January 2021 and July 2026.
He said the agency had also seized more than 15.5 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, while providing counselling, treatment and rehabilitation for more than 53,000 drug users. UAE authority chairman Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to dismantling trafficking networks.
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