PUNCH
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its most resource-rich is not only a hub for trade and commerce but has, over the years, become a magnet for foreigners seeking opportunities. However, alongside legitimate economic engagement lies a dark and insidious trend — an increasing number of foreign nationals exploiting Nigeria’s legal and security loopholes to commit crimes, GODFREY GEORGE writes
It is often Nigerians living abroad who make the headlines for drug-related crimes—paraded by authorities, jailed for trafficking or apprehended at international airports.
But, on October 3, 2024, there was a rare occurrence: a Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, was apprehended while attempting to smuggle 74 parcels of “Canadian loud,” a potent strain of synthetic cannabis, weighing 35.20 kilogrammes, into Nigeria.
She was intercepted at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, during the routine inward clearance of passengers arriving from Canada.
When confronted, Munju confessed to being recruited online to deliver the narcotics for 10,000 Canadian dollars. She admitted that financial hardship, exacerbated by the pressure of paying for her ongoing master’s degree in Canada, led her to accept the job.
Days after her arrest, a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, convicted and sentenced Munju to 11 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
After hearing the allocution by her counsel, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years for count one and five years for count two. The judge, however, gave her the option of a fine—N50m on each count, totalling N100 million.
Munju was not the first arrest of a foreign national involved in drug trafficking. Three years earlier, specifically in October 2021, another significant case was recorded.
The NDLEA arrested 29 suspects, including 21 foreign crew members and a Thai national, Captain Tanahan Krilerk, aboard the ship MV Chayaneenaree.
They were caught attempting to smuggle over 30kgs of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
Following intelligence reports from international partners and assistance from the Nigerian Navy, Customs, DSS, and police, the ship was intercepted.
The Federal High Court in Lagos granted NDLEA’s application for interim attachment of the vessel and detained the foreign crew and their Nigerian counterparts involved in the operation.
Interestingly, not much was heard about the case after it was adjourned till November of the same year.
Complex drug networks
These cases reveal the complex international networks exploiting Nigeria’s porous borders for drug trafficking.
Based on findings, foreigners, particularly from countries with entrenched drug cartels, increasingly play active roles in importing illicit drugs into Nigeria.
With the deepening involvement of foreign syndicates, Nigerian authorities have been forced to ramp up efforts to curb the inflow of narcotics.
The country’s role as a transit point for hard drugs has grown steadily over the years. While foreign traffickers view Nigeria as a soft target for entry into larger markets, Nigerian criminal groups have been known to collaborate with international cartels to move these drugs.
A foreign affairs researcher, Dr Chuka Idika, told Saturday PUNCH that Nigeria’s strategic location within West Africa makes it a natural hub for drug smuggling operations.
“Nigeria connects South American cocaine producers to European and Asian drug markets, facilitating the flow of heroin from Southeast Asia into West Africa,” he revealed.
This geographical positioning, alongside under-resourced customs, porous borders, and systemic corruption, allows traffickers to take advantage of the country.
In Munju’s case, as in others, corruption plays an underlying role in facilitating these operations.
Despite strategic and sustained efforts of law enforcement agencies and international collaborations, drug cartels persist.
South American cartels, for example, collaborate with Nigerian operatives to move large quantities of cocaine through Lagos ports.
In return, Nigerian drug lords are linked to methamphetamine distribution across Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.
Though Nigerian authorities have made notable arrests, the persistence of such activities signals a larger problem: transnational criminal networks using Nigeria as a convenient gateway in the global narcotics trade.
These operations reveal that foreigners, some of whom are undocumented, are increasingly exploiting Nigeria’s weaknesses in its fight against hard drugs.
Idika added, “Nigeria’s place in the global drug trade is not merely as a victim of foreign operations but as an enabler through collaboration with international crime syndicates. Foreigners, especially those from countries with drug cartel networks, continue to exploit these vulnerabilities.”
In essence, while Nigeria has made great strides in its efforts to combat drug smuggling, the intricate web of foreign and domestic players involved in trafficking is a reminder of the ongoing battle.
Human trafficking
Human trafficking has plagued Nigeria for decades, with the country acting as both a source and transit point for trafficked persons.
Foreign nationals, particularly from North Africa, China, and parts of Europe, have played significant roles in human trafficking rings operating in the country.
These foreign criminal syndicates are involved in the trafficking of Nigerian women and children for forced labour, sexual exploitation, and even organ harvesting.
Many of these trafficked individuals end up in countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, lured with false promises of employment only to end up as victims of modern-day slavery.
One of the most horrifying examples of foreign involvement in human trafficking is the illegal organ trade, where traffickers exploit vulnerable individuals, often promising them opportunities or medical assistance, only to forcibly remove their organs for profit.
This illicit trade not only violates the rights and dignity of victims but also highlights the darker side of globalisation and the urgent need for stronger international laws and enforcement mechanisms to combat such atrocities.
There have been reports of Nigerians, particularly children, trafficked to North African and Middle Eastern countries, where their organs are harvested and sold on the black market.
This highly secretive and brutal trade is facilitated by foreign actors who operate with audacious impunity, as local law enforcement agencies are often underfunded and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the crime.
In many instances, these foreign traffickers, when apprehended, bribe their way out of legal repercussions or are quietly deported to their home countries without facing trial in Nigeria.
The powerless victims are left without any hope of justice.
In December 2023, a historic feat was recorded by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
In a bid to eradicate the incidents of human trafficking in the Country, a Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, presided over by His Lordship, Honourable D.V Agishi, convicted a Lebanese human trafficker, Jabr Iskandar Kfour Sleiman, who sexually exploited numerous girls.
