Meeting to discuss money laundering in the drug trade, cryptocurrency, and asset forfeiture
At the next 31st conference of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa, to be held in Abuja on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, President Bola Tinubu and representatives from 54 African nations plan to declare war on the worldwide drug trafficking evil.
The top items on the agenda will be conversations and partnerships regarding cannabis production alternatives, asset forfeiture trends and alliances, cryptocurrency, and money laundering involving drug cartels, among others.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, along with a few other invited ministers and the leaders of the pertinent parastatals and agencies, will attend the opening ceremony in addition to President Tinubu, who is scheduled to deliver the keynote address and officially open the conference as the special guest of honor.
This information was released to the media on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 in Abuja by Oliver Stolpe, the country representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and Shadrach Haruna, the secretary of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The 31st meeting of the HONLAF, a subcommittee of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, will allow heads of drug law enforcement agencies in Africa to discuss and develop strategies to combat drug trafficking and abuse in the region, according to Haruna, who attended the briefing in place of the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (ret.).
The HONLAF summit takes place every year, according to Haruna. Nigeria was overwhelmingly chosen to host the 31st edition, which will take place in Abuja from Tuesday, September 26 to Friday, September 29, 2023. The previous one was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya.
The agenda for this year’s HONLAF meeting includes technical sessions, paper presentations, discussions of reports and trends, workshops, and bilateral discussions between member countries. It serves as a platform for facilitating partnerships in the fight against global drug cartels throughout the African continent through combined operations, joint training, and the sharing of intelligence.
Nigeria enjoys the honor of serving as the meeting’s chair and host this year. Delegates from 53 other African nations will therefore assemble in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Monday, and will then stay with NDLEA and the Federal Government of Nigeria for the remainder of the week. In addition to delegates from African nations, observers from these and other non-African nations will be present to witness the proceedings.
On the fringes of the main program, the conference, which runs from Tuesday, September 26 to Friday, September 29, will also offer possibilities for bilateral discussions.
“Among other encouraging developments, Nigeria’s hosting of the 31st HONLAF is a sign that its counterparts on the continent have faith in NDLEA’s ability to lead. Nigeria grabbed the opportunity at the most recent HONLAF meeting in Nairobi to broker bilateral cooperation with other nations in order to create a potent regional defense against transnational illicit drug organizations aiming to set up bases in our country. The NDLEA’s interdiction activities over the past year have benefited greatly from such bilateral relationships, Haruna remarked.
Dr. Oliver Stolpe said during the briefing that the HONLAF meeting will also be centered on “regional and national cooperation to reduce illicit production and cultivation of illicit drugs, something that has been observed thanks to the operational success of NDLEA over the years in Nigeria for the destruction of cannabis farms as well as the manufacturing of other drugs like methamphetamine.
“Alternative development, a strategy supported by many nations, financial investigation in drug trafficking cases, the role of cryptocurrency in drug trafficking cases, and money laundering will also be discussed. It is safe to claim that the NDLEA has made significant progress in seizing the cash and proceeds of drug-related criminality. We’ll also examine how to track down the money and seize the enormous wealth amassed by the drug trade.
He continued by saying that UNODC and the National Institute of Security Studies would both be able to submit a report on trends in organized crime that pose a threat to Nigeria during the HONLAF meeting’s opening ceremony.
