Upgraded forensic lab will enhance NDLEA’s performance – Marwa

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, on Wednesday, said that the upgrade of the agency’s forensic laboratory would enhance operational standard and optimal performance.

Marwa, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, said this at the inauguration of the renovated laboratory in Lagos

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forensic laboratory was upgraded by the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)

The NDLEA boss said that the upgraded forensic laboratory would further enhance the agency’s fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.

“With this facility, NDLEA is anticipating the provision of state-of-the-art analytical equipment, which will enhance optimal performance in line with standard operational laboratory procedures and best practices.

“This in turn will enhance evidence-based analytical processes in our forensic analysis.

“The project was facilitated by INL and implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC,” he said.

Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, emphasised the importance of modern forensic laboratories to the successful fight against illicit drugs in any country.

He said that everyone with knowledge of how pivotal a forensic laboratory was to drug investigation would share his excitement.

“The forensic laboratory plays a critical role in the identification of drug exhibits, in the investigation of illicit drug manufacturing and the dismantling of clandestine laboratories.

“Ultimately, it reinforces the criminal justice system. Given the current situation of illicit drugs in Nigeria, a forensic laboratory is sine qua non for any meaningful effort to stymie the problem,” Marwa said.

The NDLEA chairman said that in the past three decades, Nigeria had grown from a transit country to one that produces a farrago of new psychoactive substances,.

“Over the last three years that I have been leading the agency, there have been seizures of record quantities of illicit drugs, approximately 7, 590 tons,” he said .

Marwa said that what was remarkable about the seizures was that they not only included substances already under national and international control, but also an unexpectedly high number of new psychoactive substances and combinations of illicit drugs prepared by chemists working in clandestine laboratories.

“These substances, constituting over 10,000 exhibits, found their way to the forensic laboratory for confirmatory analysis and identification.

“The poor infrastructure of then forensic laboratory translated into inadequacy to cope with the volume of work on ground.

” It is against this backdrop that INL intervened to sponsor the upgrading of the laboratory to a global standard and expand its capacity to cope with the challenging dynamics inherent in the analysis of new psychoactive substances, amphetamine-type stimulants, synthetic cannabinoids, and fentanyl opioids.” he said

Marwa expressed appreciation to the US government for approving funding for the project.

He said the funding enabled strengthening of forensic, chemical analysis capacity of NDLEA, upgrading of the interrogation room and provision of an e-library for prosecution.

The NDLEA chairman equally commended the UNODC for the painstaking implementation of the project.

Marwa said some other benefits of the project so far included the training of 20 NDLEA forensic analysts on drug identification and safe handling of synthetic opioids, and provision of safety bags consisting of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE);

Others are the supply of 20 test kits for drugs and precursor chemicals for field identification; supply of laptops, desktop computer, and other ICT accessories.

Speaking at the event, U.S. Consul General, Mr Will Stevens, highlighted the ongoing security cooperation between the United States and Nigeria.

His words: “The global opioid crisis calls for a coordinated, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary global response.

” The U.S. Mission in Nigeria has partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and NDLEA to modernize this chemical forensic laboratory in Lagos.

This $500,000 investment will ensure our Nigerian partners have the state-of-the-art equipment and training needed to identify and analyze the increasing flow of illegal drugs entering and being produced in Nigeria.

” We appreciate Nigeria’s strong regional leadership and commitment to work with us to combat this growing threat.” he said

In his remarks, Mr Danilo Campisi, the UNODC Deputy Country Representative, commended the partnership with the United States INL and NDLEA.

He said that the partnership had demonstrated the effectiveness of these types of interventions, implemented by organisations like UNODC.