NDLEA, UAE Seal Landmark MoU to Crush Drug Trafficking Along Nigeria-UAE Corridor
Abuja/Abu Dhabi—September 26, 2026—Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United Arab Emirates’ National Drug Enforcement Authority (NDEA) on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at intensifying the fight against drug trafficking between the two countries.
The agreement was inked on the sidelines of the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice currently under way in Abu Dhabi.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the pact as the culmination of years of steady engagement between the two agencies.
Strengthening the Nigeria-UAE Corridor
Under the MoU, both sides will deepen intelligence sharing, operational information exchange, and joint enforcement actions along the busy Nigeria-UAE travel, trade, and commercial corridor.
Marwa noted that the partnership would build on existing liaison arrangements and technical cooperation already in place.
He revealed that between 2021 and 2026, NDLEA operatives intercepted approximately 354.7 kilogrammes of illicit drugs—including cocaine, cannabis, tramadol, Rohypnol, ecstasy, and khat—concealed in consignments destined for the UAE. The seizures led to the arrest and prosecution of 47 suspects.
“These figures underscore the urgency of this new partnership,” Marwa said at the signing ceremony.
Broader NDLEA Achievements Highlighted
The NDLEA boss also placed the bilateral deal within the agency’s wider operational record. Between January 2021 and July 2026, the organization recorded more than 91,000 arrests (including 243 drug barons), seized over 15.5 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, secured 16,469 convictions, and provided counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation services to more than 53,000 drug users.
Its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign has reached nearly 5.9 million Nigerians through community and school engagements.
UAE Commitment and Traveller Safeguards
NDEA Chairman His Excellency Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to working closely with Nigeria to disrupt trafficking networks that exploit the strong people-to-people trade and travel links between the two nations.
He described the MoU as a natural evolution of an already productive relationship.
A practical component of the agreement involves the UAE providing Nigerian travellers with a comprehensive list of prohibited items. The measure is designed to help prevent inadvertent violations of UAE laws by people travelling between the two countries.
Both agencies expressed confidence that the new framework would deliver stronger intelligence flows, more successful joint operations, and the eventual dismantling of trafficking networks operating along the Nigeria-UAE axis, in line with the shared global responsibility promoted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The signing comes as the 15th UN Crime Congress opens in Abu Dhabi under the theme of accelerating crime prevention, criminal justice, and the rule of law in the digital age, with the adoption of the Abu Dhabi Declaration setting a five-year global roadmap.
For Nigeria and the UAE, the MoU represents a concrete step toward tighter control of one of the significant drug trafficking routes linking West Africa and the Gulf.
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