NIGERIA and Ghana have formalised a strategic alliance to combat transnational drug syndicates, issuing a stern warning to cartels attempting to destabilise the West African sub-region.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), announced the partnership during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) with a visiting delegation from the Ghana Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), yesterday in Abuja.

Marwa said that the partnership is aimed at tightening measures and innovating ways to better tackle evolving strategies of drug trafficking cartels in their desperation to beat the system.
He said “We will continue to innovate, collaborate, and dominate the tactical space until our streets and communities are safe.

“Let this visit serve as a warning to those who seek to destabilise our societies with illicit drugs, Nigeria and Ghana stand united.”

Marwa added that the evolution of transnational threats requires a response that is not only robust but also deeply collaborative hence the importance of the meeting.

“This moves our relationship from informal consultation to a structured, aggressive, and unified front against drug barons,” the NDLEA boss noted.
Marwa described the MoU as a legal and operational roadmap that targets the production of psychotropic substances, chemical precursors, and associated money laundering.

Leader of the Ghanaian delegation and the Director General of NACOC, Brig. Gen. Maxwell Obuba Mantey, noted that illicit drug menace is becoming increasingly sophisticated with traffickers shifting towards maritime corridors and a greater reliance on synthetic drugs.

“We are witnessing increasingly sophisticated trafficking methods and a growing presence of synthetic drugs.

“In Ghana, we are also observing a gradual shift. While we have historically been considered largely a transit point, there is now a growing domestic dimension. This reinforces a critical reality that no single country can effectively address this threat in isolation,” Mantey observed.
The NACOC Director General emphasised that the new MoU must result in “measurable outcomes” rather than remaining a symbolic gesture.

He called for intensified intelligence sharing and coordinated joint operations to tackle the linkages between narcotics and other forms of organised crime.
According to him, “The true value of this partnership will be defined not by what we sign, but by what we implement.”
The Ghanaian delegation will focused on a study tour of the NDLEA’s operational model and advancements in digital forensics during the visit.
The ceremony was attended by the acting Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Gladys Mansa Yawa Feddy Akyea