The French government has assured the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of improved support to enhance the efficiency of the Agency in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
The support will focus on three key areas, including training, capacity building, and logistics.
Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media & Advocacy of NDLEA disclosed this in a statement made available to Thelensng, noting that the assurance was given on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 during a meeting between a French delegation and the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa at its headquarters in Abuja.
The French delegation was led by Lt. Gen. Regis Colcombet, Director, Security and Defence Cooperation at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, accompanied by Lt. Col. Pierre Yves Dupe, Philippe Baurreau, Colonel Oliver Ductet, and Philippe Crespo.
According to the statement, Colcombet said that the meeting with Marwa and his team is a follow up to bilateral agreements reached between the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his recent state visit to Paris.
He recalled that he had also met the NDLEA boss in a similar meeting in France about two years ago on areas of support for the anti-narcotics agency.
“It’s important for us to be here, because it’s now three months after the very successful state visit of your President to France, which has a lot of developments. We’ve been requested to come, develop, follow up and see how we can go further on the development of this cooperation. It’s very important,” the Director stated.
Colcombet assured that apart from the trainings to be provided for selected NDLEA officers across Commands and formations on tactical operations, slots will be given for more personnel on cyber security at the French Regional Academy in Cote d’Ivoire.
He also affirmed that some logistics that will aid the practicability of the trainings will also be provided to the Agency.
In his remarks, Marwa expressed delight in the advancement and growth of the relationship between Nigeria and France following the good rapport between President Tinubu and President Macron.
He acknowledged that the relationship has provided a lot of leverage for NDLEA to deepen its partnership with its French counterparts.
The Chairman expressed gratitude for the French government’s continuous support, while highlighting other areas of need for assistance.
He further sought for more manpower development and capacity building for NDLEA personnel at the French Regional Academy in Cote d’Ivoire especially in tactical operations, cyber and crypto investigation, among others.
