How US-donated equipment helped us discover fentanyl production chemical in Ogun forest lab

BY NKECHI BAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has revealed how advanced forensic equipment donated by the United States government enabled operatives to detect a precursor chemical for fentanyl at a clandestine laboratory in an Ogun State forest.

Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency disclosure this at its headquarters in Abuja today while hosting a delegation from the US Government Accountability Office led by Mr. Derek Tolliver, Country Director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau (INL) in Nigeria.

He congratulated Tolliver on his appointment as the Country Director of INL in Nigeria, while expressing gratitude for the enduring positive relationship between Nigeria and the US Government.

He thanked the INL specifically for the  immense support NDLEA has continued to receive from them and other US agencies that are supportive of the Agency especially, the DEA, AFRICOM, FBI and others.

According to him, “I would like to state very clearly that whatever successes that we have had in this Agency, the INL is part of it. No question about it. You have assisted us in the past with vehicles; we need operational vehicles to move. And I recall that in 2021, when I assumed the chairmanship of this Agency, one of the earliest actions that I took was to distribute INL-provided vehicles to the commands.

“Now, the forensic labs: we used to have just the one in Lagos for the whole country. The INL modernized it with new equipment, better-constructed buildings, and on top of that, the additional forensic laboratories that were introduced here in Abuja to cater for the North, and another one in Enugu to cater for the South-East and South-South, the INL supported us with some of the equipment. These forensic labs have been…