Nigeria Country Profile

Illicit Drug Trafficking 

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, drug trafficking and related crime was of a very low scale and magnitude and dominated primarily by cannabis and its derivatives. The 1980s heralded the arrival of wide varieties of substances on the African scene with heroin, cocaine and psychotropic substances making an appearance. The emergence of the Indian Sub-Continent as major source of heroin for the international illicit market marked a turning point and gradually Nigeria was used as part of a web of illicit drug route used by the traffickers. The Nigerian authorities at international airports in Lagos increasingly intercepted heroin. The 1990s witnessed other significant developments involving Nigerian criminal groups trafficking in heroin and cocaine. They adopted more complicated and complex methods of operation than ever before. They gained access to production sources in Asia and expanded their activities in South America. The principal drug trafficked in Nigeria in order of magnitude, are cannabis, cocaine, heroin and psychotropic substances. The sources of drugs: cocaine, heroin and psychotropic substances are Latin America and Asia.

The traffickers are reported to have resorted to more complex routes using and multiple travel documents as well as multiple couriers. The drug traffickers use the Brazzaville/Abidjan route as transit points for drugs from Asia and Latin America. Traffickers utilize at least two passports, starting their trips with one passport from country of departure to Brazzaville and then on to Asia and Latin America with the second passport. On return journey, the passport used in the first leg is once again used to enter Abidjan, Lome or Cotonou from where they enter Nigeria by land border or travel directly from Brazzaville to Lagos.

The Nigeria-South Africa-Rio de Janeiro route has also been reported to be an emerging drug route. The traffickers travel to Harare via Accra and Swaziland, obtain a visa for South Africa, travel by road to South Africa and proceed to Latin America. In the late 1990s, South Africa's re-entry into the arena of international drug trafficking and the networking with their Nigerian groups has resulted in the emergence of a major illicit market. The seizure of the biggest catch of cocaine in South Africa in December 1998, originating from Colombia and believed to be for Nigerian traffickers by South African authorities, indicates the existence and the potential of increasing drug trafficking in the continent involving Nigerian traffickers and continued targeting of Nigeria by the traffickers.

The relative success of the NDLEA during the last few years has resulted in increasing use of the neighboring cities and countries by the traffickers e.g. Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Togo and C�te d'Ivoire. Also, the use of minors with foreign passports as couriers to convey drugs to Europe and United States of America is reported by the NDLEA. In addition, the use of courier and postal express mail services by the traffickers has also been detected. Overall, the increasing involvement of Nigerians in drug trafficking is a cause of serious concern to the Nigerian government, the civil society and the international community. The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) reported that for the world-wide heroin and cocaine seizures involving nationals of the Sub-Saharan African countries during the period 1994 to 1996, the number of Nigerians was highest with 311 and 390 out of 595 and 686 respectively.

The statistics of drug seizures during the period 1994 to 1998 indicate noticeable changes in the trends. The seizures of heroin and cocaine have declined over the period. Please see Annex 1. The specifics on each illicit drug are as follows:

Cannabis constitutes the most trafficked drug in Nigeria. Most of the seizures were from the consignments destined for the international market and intercepted in the sea and airports. There is also strong evidence that the Nigerian cannabis exporters are using neighboring countries as transit routes (EC Report, 1997).

Heroin is believed to have been first introduced in the 1970s by Nigerians who studied or worked abroad, hence, it had initial appeal and spread through the elites. When Nigeria became a regular player in international drug trafficking in the 1980s, the spillovers of the transit merchandise lead to the ready availability of heroin in the cities. Selling at prices as low as N20 to N50 a pinch of heroin is within the reach of both urban and rural inhabitants. The high dependency effect of the drug together with the demotivational effects of the drug associates it with social decline, unemployment and criminality. According to NDLEA records, 81.35 Kg and 55.1 Kg of heroin were seized in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

Cocaine seizures increased from 15.64 Kg in 1999 to 53.93 Kg in 2000 (NDLEA, 2000). It is usually available as white cocaine and the brown colored crack cocaine and used interchangeably with heroin, and often combined in the "speed ball". Cocaine is more expensive than heroin, selling at between N80 and N100 a pinch. Like heroin, cocaine is now increasingly available to rural communities as much as in the urban areas.