BILATERAL COOPERATION BETWEEN NIGERIA AND UNITED STATES AGAINST ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING (2015 – 2023)

Bilateral or multilateral cooperation is indispensable in combating drug abuse and trafficking effectively. Nigeria and United States are working cooperatively together to reduce the demand for illegal drug through prevention, education and public awareness, treatment, training and research. In addition, the two countries have accepted that they are transit and drug consumer countries, respectively. Based on this understanding, Nigeria and United States have proceeded with technical exchanges and cooperative projects in areas of control of illicit cultivation, drug treatment and demand reduction. This study assesses the cooperation between Nigeria and the United States against illicit drug trafficking from 2015 to 2023. The qualitative approach used in this thesis employed both primary and secondary data which were collected from National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) office in Enugu. The primary data utilized was obtained through in-depth interview with some staff members of the NDLEA and an official of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) while the secondary data, in form of publications and annual reports of the agency of documents and records, was collected from the management of the NDLEA. Further consultations were made with journals, books, and research papers or articles. The liberal theory of international, which gives a better explanation of the reasons behind the bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and United States, was employed as the framework of analysis in the study. The study finds that the bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and the United States has minimised the flow of drugs from Nigeria into the United States marked; however, despite the present efforts of NDLEA and collaborative strategy put in place by the two countries in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse, the number of people involved in drug trafficking within Nigeria is still on the increase. This has exposed a weakness in the nature of the bilateral cooperation, thereby raising the need for the strategy to be enhanced by a greater coordination and efficiency in the United States interdiction efforts, not only around flow routes of illicit drugs into the United States, but also around and within Nigeria’s borders, in order to check the entry, production and trafficking of illicit drugs. Also, a wholesome strategy must be developed to address the menace within Nigeria in order to ensure that the Nigerian society will cease to be a breeding ground for any illicit drug production and/or trafficking activities.