نيجيريا
Fighting organized crime in Nigeria
Nigeria shares 4000km of borderland with four other West African countries and a long coast in the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf of Guinea. This geographical location is attractive to organized crime groups either wishing to carry out smuggling operations across the region or to cross it bound for other continents. Their crimes often lead to money laundering and violent crime.
Nigeria sits on the crossroads between West Africa and the Sahel’s most violent conflict zone. The resulting instability provides fertile ground for terrorist groups and criminal networks.
The international characteristics of these crime areas and their links with crime networks around the world make the role of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Nigeria fundamental to maintaining national and regional security.
INTERPOL in Nigeria
Nigeria’s NCB is the coordination and investigations office for international police enquiries linked to Nigeria.
The NCB plays a central role in preventing the country and surrounding region from serving international organized crime. By providing globally sourced intelligence about regional crime, the NCB helps police officers across Nigeria detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along trafficking routes in and around the country.
Nigeria’s national police force uses the NCB to work with the global police community in investigating crime and bringing criminals to justice. It works in tight collaboration with Nigeria’s other leading agencies including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Immigration Services, Customs, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control.
Law enforcement in Nigeria
Law enforcement services in Nigeria are provided principally by the Nigeria Police Force. With a strength of more than 350,000 men and women, this federal police force covers all 36 Nigerian states and the federal capital territory, Abuja.