Drug Trafficking: Customs Western Command Seeks Stronger Collaboration With NDLEA

The Acting Comptroller Western Marine Command, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Thomas Jonah, has called for stronger inter-agency collaboration to combat drug trafficking, smuggling and other forms of economic sabotage along Western Marine Waterways.

Jonah made the call on Wednesday, 14 October, 2026, during courtesy visits to the NDLEA Apapa Command and Lagos Marine Command in Lagos. The visits marked his first official engagement with a sister agency since assuming office. He said the outreach was aimed at strengthening the longstanding relationship between both agencies, securing the waterways and disrupting organised criminal networks.

Recalling his time as Deputy Comptroller Administration Kirikiri Command, Jonah described the relationship between the NCS and NDLEA as cordial and strategic to national security.

“If you want to succeed as an agency, you must work in collaboration with sister agencies and stakeholders. If you want to work alone, you are only spelling your doom,” he said.

Jonah commended the NDLEA’s operational presence along the waterways and reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to facilitating legitimate trade, securing the supply chain and protecting national security, in line with the collaborative approach of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi,

At the NDLEA Apapa Command, Commander Mohammed Tukur welcomed the delegation, congratulated Jonah on his appointment and commended the NCS for the timely transfer of seized items to the agency.

“No agency can do it alone. We must come together as law enforcement agencies to fight the cancer of drug trafficking and economic sabotage,” Tukur said.

At the Lagos Marine Command, Commander Lucky Yerima sympathised with the Western Marine Command over a recent fire outbreak and expressed confidence that the partnership would grow stronger under the new leadership, stressing the need for intelligence sharing and coordinated operations.