The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, speaks with Sesan Olufowobi about the war against drug trafficking and sundry matters
More drug traffickers on the prowl
The demand for illicit drugs in Western
countries and in some African countries is high. Although Nigeria is not
a consumer country, we have people who are involved in trafficking of
drugs because of its high returns. Drug trafficking was started in the
1960s by some musicians who were trafficking cannabis. They hid the
drugs in their drums and sold them to users in other parts of the world
and came back rich. When cocaine and heroin started flooding the market,
they shifted to cocaine and heroin because they were very easy to move.
Traffickers could ingest the drugs. And the money they were making from
cocaine and heroin was huge compared to the insignificant returns
generated from the trade in cannabis. So, these traditional traffickers
of cannabis are the ones who later graduated to cocaine barons. They are
recruiting other people to sell the drugs all over the world. They
have succeeded in planting couriers all over the world, especially in
Latin America, India and Pakistan.
Arrest of drug barons
The barons are more professional in
their dealings. You can hardly reach them. The fact is that the
traffickers are more in number than the barons and we have arrested many
of them. Actually we know who the barons are, but you have to follow
due process before arresting them. You cannot arrest somebody because
you suspect him to be a baron. You must connect him to something. You
need concrete evidence to link him to drug trafficking or you will end
up making a fool of yourself before the court. In most cases, there are
five to 10 people between them and the traffickers. If you arrest a
trafficker, the best he can tell you is that he met the person who gave
the drug to him and his name is so and so person. At the end of it,
you may get only two people relating to the drug. At the end, this
suspect will eventually not link you to the real baron. The way they
operate this racket, it will be extremely difficult to get the barons
because they provide the money that is used in buying the drugs and they
live outside Nigeria. Immediately the drug arrives, you won’t see
traces of the baron again. The deal would have been handed over to
another person who knows only the person that gave him the drugs. The
barons give to the operational man, who in turn calls another person to
pick the drug from another person that has no fixed address.
Investigation of people without viable means of livelihood
We have been doing that. The law is on
our side in that regard. Around 1994, only the NDLEA was operating the
Money Laundering Law. Later, after the Sept. 9, 2011 terrorist attacks
in the US, most of the powers were given to the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission. We only retained the powers that are related to the
drugs. If we investigate and we cannot connect the person you are
investigating to drug business, we will transfer the person to EFCC,
which has a broader scope to cover.
Cooperating with the public
The repercussion of drug trafficking is
general and devastating. So, we need the cooperation of the general
public. These traffickers are people that live among us. So, we need
information from the members of the public who live with them. Honestly
speaking, we have been getting information from the public, but very
insignificant.
Penalty for drug offenders
A bill that seeks stiffer punishment for
drug offenders is pending in the National Assembly. Quite frankly, if
the law as it is today is strictly enforced, it can still serve the
purpose. The minimum sentence for drug trafficking is 15 years
imprisonment and the maximum is life imprisonment. There is no
provision for an option of fine, yet you see the people convicted on the
streets a few hours after conviction. It is not the law but the
implementation of it that matters.
Sub-standard scanners and other equipment
There is equipment, but I will agree
with you that they are not enough. We have four functional
international airports in the country. We have equipment in all of
them. They were donated by the United States of America. The Murtala
Muhammed International Airport has scanners and sniffer dogs. We are
intending to get more of these sniffer dogs and put them in other
international airports. The seizures recorded have to do with how
seriously the operatives in the airports take their job. They have been
trained by our collaborators. About six months ago, the American
government gave us some modern equipment. They are currently in the
MMIA. The government will soon grant our request and we will have more
of the equipment. More international airports are now springing up. We
have one in Ilorin and another one in Akwa Ibom State.
Low staff strength
We are working hard to overcome that
hurdle. Our intention is to recruit more committed officers. We are
targeting 30,000 staff strength by 2015. We are trying to get approval
from the government to recruit 5,000 annually.
Poor welfare package
What we are getting is applicable to
other security agencies like the police and Armed Forces. We have the
same salary structure, except allowances. I know that there was
stagnation in the promotion of the staff, but we are tackling that now.
Nigeria and the global drug war
I leave the judgement to members of the
public. But in 1994, the American government rated us as one of the drug
trafficking nations in the world and we were subjected to annual
certification. We have been on it for quite some time. Many of our
collaborators were not willing to assist. But in 2010, the American
government removed Nigeria from the list of trafficking nations. Today,
there is free flow of intelligence between the agency and our
international collaborators. This means that information does not come
to me alone. It gets to the operatives, too. So you can see the level of
trust.
Hazards of the job
Nobody that you prevent from making
quick and big money will see you as his friend. For example, the owners
of about 14.2 tonnes of drugs seized by the agency are still outside
the country. They have not returned. They are losing a lot of money
each day. I don’t think they will regard me or my operatives as
potential friends.
Methamphetamine
It is a very serious and worrisome
issue. The first place we discovered it was Monkey Village, near
Kirikiri, in Lagos. They were operating in a densely populated area.
They dug a hole where they dumped toxic waste and inside the room was
also where they manufactured the drug. When we found the place, we took
the sample to our collaborators in the USA for analysis. What they
told me after their analysis was very disturbing. They said that even
those manufacturing it would develop cancer in the future. The same
thing might happen to those who lived within the area because the toxic
waste would spill into boreholes within the vicinity and anyone who used
the water for drinking, bathing or laundry would equally be affected.
Any family that moved into the house would be affected.
If our citizens are being infected by
cancer because of a few individuals, it is wrong. The devastating
effect of this drug is enormous. We will lose many people and the
economy will suffer. For your information, we have many Nigerians who
are involved in the activity of this drug. Methamphetamine is more
dangerous than any other drugs because of the health hazard.
