Nigeria Launches National Strategy to Dismantle Organised Crime

….Break Agency Silos

Nigeria has launched a new National Strategy for Combating Organised Crime, signalling a major shift towards a coordinated, intelligence-led national response to criminal networks involved in cybercrime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other transnational crimes.

The strategy, launched in Abuja with the participation of key government institutions, law enforcement agencies, international partners and civil society organisations, seeks to break down institutional silos and establish a unified framework for preventing, detecting, investigating, prosecuting and dismantling organised criminal groups operating within and across Nigeria’s borders.

The initiative was developed through extensive multi-agency consultations and technical collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Major General Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, said a coordinated front against organised crime was essential to Nigeria’s national security and stability.

Laka stressed that inter-agency coordination could no longer be treated as optional, urging stakeholders to make concerted efforts to ensure that criminal networks are effectively disrupted.

He said building an effective response would require stronger collaboration and sustained commitment across institutions responsible for national security and criminal justice.

The strategy places particular emphasis on intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations, specialised operational capacity and stronger regional and international cooperation, reflecting the increasingly sophisticated nature of organised criminal networks.

It also provides for the protection of victims and witnesses, recognising that the fight against organised crime must extend beyond the disruption of criminal networks to protecting the people and communities affected by them.

The strategy comes amid growing concerns over the ability of criminal groups to exploit technology, cross-border mobility, economic vulnerabilities and illicit financial networks to expand their activities.

According to the UNODC World Drug Report 2025, an estimated 316 million people used drugs globally in 2023, while organised criminal groups have continued to adapt to global crises and expand illicit markets, including into Africa.

The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024 also reported a global increase in identified trafficking victims following the COVID-19 pandemic, with children accounting for nearly 40 per cent of identified victims.

The reports underscore the increasingly transnational character of organised crime and the need for countries to strengthen cooperation among law enforcement, criminal justice institutions and other stakeholders.

Speaking at the launch, UNODC Country Representative Cheikh Toure welcomed Nigeria’s commitment to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to tackling organised crime.

Toure, alongside Tolliver Derrick, Director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (US INL), expressed support for the strategy and its emphasis on coordinated, victim-centred and rights-based responses.

The approach is consistent with international best practices promoted by UNODC, including its Organised Crime Strategy Toolkit, which encourages countries to develop integrated responses that bring together government institutions, civil society, communities and international partners.

Participants at the Abuja launch identified stronger inter-agency and regional collaboration, operational readiness, specialised capacity and adherence to the rule of law as key pillars of the new framework.

They emphasised that no single institution could effectively confront the increasingly complex ecosystem of organised crime on its own.

According to participants, effective implementation would therefore depend on timely intelligence sharing, joint investigations, intelligence-led operations and sustained partnerships among security and law enforcement agencies, communities, civil society organisations and international partners.

The project coordinator from the National Counter Terrorism Centre and national consultants subsequently presented the strategy’s core objectives, implementation roadmap, assessment of organised crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, as well as its monitoring and evaluation framework.

The presentations marked what stakeholders described as the beginning of the implementation phase, with emphasis now shifting from policy commitments to measurable results.

The strategy is expected to provide a common framework for confronting multiple forms of organised crime, including cybercrime, illicit drug markets, trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and environmental crimes.

For communities affected by these crimes, the strategy represents an attempt to connect national security priorities with the protection of livelihoods, human rights and community safety.

The initiative received financial support from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.