NDLEA partners FUNAAB to boost artemisia cultivation
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has lamented that criminal networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting technology, regulatory gaps, and corrupt port channels.

He, therefore, called for collaboration among critical stakeholders to curb the threat of increasing insecurity in the maritime space.

According to him, what is particularly alarming is that criminal actors are diversifying their methods.

He spoke at a conference organised by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on safeguarding Nigeria’s blue economy against organised crime, illicit drug trafficking and piracy in maritime operations in Apapa, Lagos.

The conference was attended by the Navy, Police, Immigration and other relevant stakeholders in the maritime sector and the blue economy.

The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on the Blue Economy, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, who described the theme of the conference: “Addressing Emerging Criminal Trends: A Legal Framework and Best Practices for Safeguarding Nigeria’s Blue Economy Against Organised Crimes, Illicit Drug Trafficking and Piracy in Maritime Operations,” as both apt and urgent, noted that Lagos State, as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and the gateway to West Africa’s maritime trade, occupies a defining position in this conversation.

He described the conference as a declaration of national intent, that Nigeria will no longer allow its maritime domain to be exploited as a corridor for crime, a conduit for narcotics, or a theatre for piracy.

Earlier, the NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, ACG Archieabis Ibinabo, emphasised that drug trafficking is not just a crime but deeply interconnected with other forms of organised crimes, including money laundering, arms smuggling, human trafficking, terrorism and violent crimes.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Marwa (rtd), represented by the Director of Airport Operations of the agency, Ahmed Garba, said that securing the maritime waters is not a task for a single agency, but a collective crusade.

Marwa, however, reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s maritime domain and called for collaboration with policymakers, the judiciary, and enforcement officers to ensure that our waters remain a secure engine of growth and a pillar of national pride.

Meanwhile, the agency has deepened its alternative development drive through a strategic visit to the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and a field assessment of Artemisia cultivation in Ibafo, Ogun State.

Marwa, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Col. MI Aminu, led a delegation to the school and Ibafo in the company of the NDLEA Commander, Ogun State Command, Tijjani Rabe and the National Coordinator, Alternative Development Project in Nigeria, Jonah Kolo.

Marwa said that the visit aimed at driving the alternative development project in Nigeria through practical implementation that reduces illicit crop cultivation and expands sustainable agricultural opportunities.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof. Babatunde Kehinde, lauded the initiative, noting the university’s vast agricultural resources, including thousands of hectares of arable land.