British government trains NDLEA officers in UK

The United Kingdom Home Office International Operations recently trained no fewer than 35 members of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency’s Marine Command and Seaports Operations.

The UK’s Central Maritime Training Unit, located near Southampton, is now putting five of the 35 students through a two-week course in maritime patrol and tactical coxswain training.

The news was revealed on Saturday in a statement from the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to the HOIO, the training is intended to improve the NDLEA’s border control capabilities by offering specialized training, mentoring, and cutting-edge drug detection tools.

Babafemi said, “Key areas covered so far include boat handling, weapons handling, riverine operations, boarding and vessel search, among many others.

“Some of the training exercise was facilitated by the British military, the Nigerian Navy and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under the Global Maritime Crime Programme.”

He also said that the five NDLEA marine officers, including their first female coxswain, are currently through a two-week training program that would equip them with the skills necessary to plan maritime operations and pursue, stop, and board ships at sea.

The Home Office International Operations Regional Manager for West Africa, Kris Hawksfield, said that HOIO was incredibly happy and honored to work with and support the work of NDLEA during a visit to the team receiving training in Southampton.

In order to interdict, seize, and destroy illegal narcotics and substances that would otherwise harm Nigeria and the UK, he continued, the UK remains committed to enhancing the Agency’s mission.

While thanking the UK government for its ongoing support and dedication to helping the NDLEA improve its capacity and capabilities to combat drug trafficking, Babafemi also noted that Brigadier General Buba Marwa, the chairman of the NDLEA, had urged the officers to remain steadfast in their professional calling and make sure they applied the training’s core principles to their formations and colleagues.

Marwa also pledged to continue placing a high priority on the training and retraining of all agency officials, both male and female.