The Federal government has launched an ambitious five-year National Strategy for Combating Organised Crime, signaling a renewed offensive against criminal syndicates whose activities continue to fuel insecurity, terrorism financing, cybercrime, corruption and illicit financial flows across Nigeria.
The strategy, which will run from 2027 to 2031, was unveiled on Monday in Abuja by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the National Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka.
The framework is designed to provide a unified national response to organised crime by strengthening intelligence sharing, improving inter-agency collaboration and enhancing partnerships with international allies to dismantle criminal enterprises operating within and beyond Nigeria’s borders.
Speaking at the unveiling, Ribadu warned that organised crime had become increasingly sophisticated, with criminal groups operating across multiple sectors and exploiting institutional weaknesses to sustain their operations.
He said the interconnected nature of terrorism, cybercrime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, maritime crime, corruption and illicit financial flows demands a coordinated national response rather than isolated institutional efforts.
“Organised crime now operates in interconnected webs that undermine development, economic growth and public safety,” Ribadu said.
According to him, the strategy adopts a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, bringing together security agencies, ministries, departments and agencies, as well as international partners, under a common operational framework.
He urged all institutions assigned implementation responsibilities to sustain the cooperation that produced the strategy and remain committed to its successful execution.
“With the launch of this strategy, we are reinforcing our resolve with a clear national framework that will enable us to anticipate threats, disrupt criminal networks, strengthen institutional coordination and ensure that those who profit from organised crime are brought to justice.
“The success of this strategy will depend on how faithfully, diligently and collaboratively it is implemented,” Ribadu said.
The NSA assured stakeholders that the Office of the National Security Adviser would coordinate implementation through intelligence fusion, operational synergy and strengthened collaboration among relevant institutions.
He also commended members of the Technical Working Group for their extensive consultations, drafting, validation and review processes that culminated in the strategy.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) described the initiative as a significant milestone but cautioned that implementation would ultimately determine whether the strategy succeeds.
UNODC Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Cheikh Touré, said organised crime had evolved into a sophisticated ecosystem capable of exploiting institutional gaps while operating across national boundaries.
He warned that many national security strategies fail not because they are poorly drafted but because governments struggle with coordination, funding and sustained execution.
“If there is one lesson that repeats itself in nearly every case, it is this: strategies rarely fail in the writing. They fail in coordination or resources,” Touré said.
He described organised crime as a major obstacle to development, investment and public confidence in government institutions, urging Nigeria to deepen domestic investment in law enforcement and the justice sector instead of relying heavily on external assistance.
According to him, international support should complement, not replace, national commitment.
“The real test of this strategy will not be written in Abuja. It will be felt across communities in every part of this country by 2031,” he added.
The United States Government also pledged continued support for Nigeria’s efforts to combat organised crime.
Director of the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Mr Tolliver Derrick, described the strategy as another milestone in the long-standing security partnership between Nigeria and the United States.
He noted that organised crime, illicit financial flows and terrorist financing had become transnational threats requiring closer international cooperation.
Derrick said the U.S. would continue supporting Nigeria in strengthening investigative capacity, disrupting criminal networks, tracing illicit financial transactions and expanding collaboration with global law enforcement agencies.
“Preventing illicit financial transfers and related cybercrime are not solely American problems. They are shared problems that demand shared solutions. Every criminal network disrupted here reduces the threat to American communities and to Nigeria,” he said.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC-ONSA), Mr Sa’ad Abubakar, identified implementation, accountability and effective information sharing as critical to the strategy’s success.
He praised the framework for clearly assigning implementation responsibilities to designated agencies, noting that unclear mandates had weakened several previous national security strategies.
Abubakar reaffirmed the centre’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s response to cybercrime under the new framework, describing the launch as the beginning of a more coordinated national effort to dismantle organised criminal networks and improve public safety
Background
Organised crime has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most complex security challenges, with criminal groups increasingly operating across terrorism financing, kidnapping, cybercrime, drug trafficking, oil theft, arms smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and other illicit activities.
Security analysts have repeatedly warned that the convergence of these crimes has strengthened criminal networks and complicated law enforcement efforts.
The newly launched National Strategy for Combating Organised Crime seeks to reverse that trend by providing a coordinated national framework that enhances intelligence sharing, strengthens inter-agency cooperation, disrupts illicit financial flows and improves collaboration with international partners over the next five years.
- Media Report