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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DRUG TRAFFICKING PATTERNS BETWEEN CROSS RIVER AND OGUN STATES.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Drug trafficking constitutes one of the most persistent and damaging forms of transnational organised crime, generating enormous illicit revenues, destabilising governance structures, fuelling corruption, and producing severe public health consequences in source, transit, and destination countries. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2022) estimated the global illicit drug market at approximately $500 billion annually, making it one of the largest criminal markets in the world. Nigeria occupies a particularly significant position in global drug trafficking networks, functioning simultaneously as a source country for cannabis (Cannabis sativa), a major transit hub for heroin and cocaine trafficked between Asia, Latin America, and Europe, and a destination market experiencing rapidly escalating domestic drug consumption (NDLEA, 2022; Olutola & Oludayo, 2017).
Within Nigeria, drug trafficking patterns are not uniform across states; rather, they are shaped by a complex interplay of geography, infrastructure, border porosity, the presence of organised criminal networks, socioeconomic conditions, and the capacity and integrity of law enforcement agencies (Omotola & Saliu, 2009; Madu & Madu, 2012). Cross River State, located in the South-South geopolitical zone and sharing international borders with Cameroon, occupies a distinctive position as a porous transborder conduit for illicit substances particularly cannabis, heroin, and synthetic drugs trafficked across the Cameroon-Nigeria border at multiple uncontrolled crossing points (Onuoha, 2013; Eze, 2015). Ogun State, in the South-West geopolitical zone, presents a contrasting but equally significant drug trafficking profile shaped by its proximity to Lagos (Nigeria’s commercial capital and primary international port of entry), its extensive network of international airports and seaports accessible via the Lagos-Ogun corridor, and its function as a transit and consolidation hub for narcotics destined for both domestic consumption and export through the Lagos port system (Shaw & Reitano, 2018; NBS, 2021).
Comparative criminological research has demonstrated that understanding differential drug trafficking patterns across geographically and socioeconomically distinct regions requires examination of the specific routes, modalities, actors, substances, and law enforcement responses characterising each context (Reuter, 2017; Braga & Weisburd, 2012). While national-level drug seizure data published by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) provides aggregate statistics on drug trafficking trends in Nigeria, state-level comparative analyses that disaggregate trafficking patterns and illuminate the specific factors driving divergence between states remain rare in the Nigerian criminological literature (Olutola & Oludayo, 2017; Olatunji, 2020). This knowledge gap has important practical implications: effective drug law enforcement and demand reduction policy must be calibrated to the specific trafficking ecosystems operating in each state, rather than applied through a uniform national framework that fails to account for local variation.
The NDLEA, established under Decree No. 48 of 1989 and strengthened through the NDLEA Amendment Act 2020, has primary federal law enforcement responsibility for drug trafficking interdiction in Nigeria. However, the agency operates in an environment of limited resources, inadequate staffing, corruption vulnerabilities, and complex coordination challenges with state police, customs, immigration, and port authorities (Omotola & Saliu, 2009; Abiodun, 2019). In Cross River State, the porous nature of international borders and the relatively low law enforcement presence in remote border communities creates structural opportunities for trafficking networks that have historically been inadequately addressed by existing enforcement responses (Onuoha, 2013). In Ogun State, the concentration of trafficking activity around the Lagos-Ogun commercial corridor and the involvement of sophisticated import-export business networks in narcotics concealment within legitimate cargo creates enforcement challenges qualitatively different from those encountered in Cross River State (Shaw & Reitano, 2018).
Against this background, the present study undertakes a systematic comparative examination of drug trafficking patterns between Cross River and Ogun States, Nigeria. By identifying the similarities and differences in trafficking routes, substances, actors, enforcement responses, and socioeconomic enabling conditions across the two states, the study generates evidence that can inform more contextually appropriate and effective drug law enforcement and policy responses at both state and federal levels.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
While national-level data from the NDLEA and UNODC highlight Nigeria’s central position within West African drug trafficking networks, there remains a paucity of research examining the distinct trafficking patterns, enabling environments, and law enforcement challenges across individual Nigerian states (Olutola & Oludayo, 2017; Olatunji, 2020). Cross River and Ogun States exemplify divergent yet critical hubs within Nigeria’s domestic drug trafficking landscape: Cross River as a permeable international border zone, and Ogun as a key commercial transit route. The absence of empirical comparative analysis examining operational variations between these contexts increases the likelihood of misdirected policy interventions, inefficient allocation of enforcement resources, and insufficient engagement with underlying socioeconomic drivers. This study seeks to address this critical research gap.
1.3 Research Questions
i. What are the predominant drug trafficking routes and modalities operating in Cross River and Ogun States respectively?
ii. What categories of illicit substances are predominantly trafficked in each state, and how do these compare?
iii. What socioeconomic and environmental factors enable and sustain drug trafficking in each state?
iv. How do law enforcement responses and their effectiveness compare between Cross River and Ogun States?
v. What policy recommendations emerge from a comparative analysis of drug trafficking patterns in the two states?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
i. To map and compare the dominant drug trafficking routes, networks, and modalities in Cross River and Ogun States.
ii. To identify and compare the categories of illicit substances predominantly trafficked in each state.
iii. To analyse the socioeconomic, geographical, and institutional factors that enable drug trafficking in each state.
iv. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of law enforcement responses in each state.
v. To generate evidence-based policy recommendations for improving drug trafficking interdiction in both states.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study contributes to Nigerian criminological scholarship by producing the first systematic comparative analysis of drug trafficking patterns between Cross River and Ogun States. Theoretically, it tests the applicability of routine activities theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979), situational crime prevention theory (Clarke, 1995), and social disorganisation theory (Shaw & McKay, 1942) to the Nigerian drug trafficking context. Practically, the findings will provide the NDLEA, state police commands, customs, immigration, and state governments with differentiated, state-specific intelligence on trafficking patterns and enforcement gaps that can inform resource allocation and enforcement strategy refinement. The study also contributes comparative data that will be valuable for UNODC and ECOWAS drug control policy processes in West Africa.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The study focuses on Cross River and Ogun States, Nigeria, covering the period 2015–2024. The substantive scope includes cannabis, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine (known locally as “crystal meth”), tramadol, and other prevalent illicit substances. The study examines trafficking routes, actors, modalities, law enforcement responses, and enabling socioeconomic conditions in both states. The study does not examine drug consumption patterns or treatment outcomes, which are addressed in a parallel literature.
1.7 Definition of Key Terms
Drug Trafficking: The illegal cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, or transport of controlled substances prohibited under the NDLEA Act, the National Drug Policy, and relevant international conventions.
Drug Trafficking Pattern: The systematic, recurring features of how drugs are trafficked in a given area, including routes, substances, actors, methods of concealment, and organisational structures.
Porous Border: An international border characterised by insufficient surveillance, inadequate enforcement presence, numerous unofficial crossing points, and high permeability to illicit flows.
Transit Hub: A geographic location through which illicit goods are routed in the course of their journey from source to final destination, functioning as a logistical node in the trafficking network.
References
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