116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERSEFFECTIVE METHODS TO COMBATTRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN CRIMINALJUSITICE PROCESSES:
THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE
Awunah Donald NgorNgor *I. PREAMBLE
At the dawn of the 20th century, crimeand criminality have metamophorsed frominternational to transnational. This
globalization of crime has necessitatednations to seek and explore the effective
ways and means to curb transnational
crime through the vehicle of criminal
justice processes. The technologicaladvancements witnessed in the preceding
millennium in all facets of human endeavor
have inadvertedly, or simply put, aided andcreated a seemingly enabling global
environment for transnational crime tothrive.
The world is becoming smaller andinterrelated every day. The advances madein technology have facilitated trade, travel,
movement of persons and services. In thesame vein international criminal activity
has tremendously benefited from theseadvances. The complicity and extent oftransnational organized crime, and thenegative influence these criminals exert
through the stupendous wealth that theyacquire make it imperative for thecooperation of all nations and regions of theworld to effectively combat this menace.
The stakes are enormous, as international
criminal organized groups jeopardise theglobal trend toward peace and freedom, sap

the strength from developing countries andthreatened all efforts to build a safe, more
prosperous worlds.
The political, economic, social andsecurity frameworks of many nations havebeen gravely weakened, undermined andcorrupted by the unwholesome activities oforganized criminal groups operating in a
sophisticated impregnable network.
In this presentation, however, attempts
will be made to critically analyse theNigerian model in tackling, controlling andmanaging transnational organized crime
within the ambit of the Nigerian Criminal
Justice System and International
Cooperation.
II. AN OVERVIEW OF
TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
Transnational organized crime suggests
in simple terms the movement of persons,
goods and services across sovereign
national jurisdiction in a manner devoidof acceptable norms and standards. The
increasing trend of transnational crime
could be best appreciated against the
backdrop of internationalization of crime.
These phenomena of globalization of crime
could be traceable to some contending
reasons:* Detective Superintendent of Police, D Department
Force Criminal Investigation Department, Nigeria
Police Force, Nigeria

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58(i) Emergence of Regional Cooperation
and removal of trade barriers;(ii) Huge profit can be made by meeting
demand in one country for an illegal
product which is only available from
elsewhere, e.g. cocaine, heroine or
prostitution;(iii) Criminals are making increasinguse of the international system andare particularly attracted tojurisdictions which help to disguisetheir activities, such as countries
which entrench banking andcorporate security;(iv) Criminals exploit weakness in theprovision of products or services inanother country, for instance, theroving international banking
frauds, which have emerged inrecent years.
(v) The forging of international lettersof credit or bearer bonds, which canbe presented at a series of financial
institutions around the world in aneffort to exploit the tax internal
checking procedure.
There are major factors largely
responsible for the preponderance oftransnational crime, namely:(i) The development of global markets;(ii) A d v a n c e m e n t i n t e c h n o l o g y,efficient communication andtransport which have accelerated
the movement of people, products,
money and of course criminals;(iii) The deregulation of the financial
systems of many developed
economies whereby manybottlenecks in international tradeand commerce are removed;(iv) Political developments, especiallythe demise of old totalitarianregimes of East and Central Europe
and the emergence of new markets
oriented democracies, causing
existing international criminalorganisations to seek new frontiers;

172(v) The increased volume complexity ofinternational transactions which
help to disguise criminal activity;and(vi) The depressed economy of mostdeveloping countries which createsthe conducive fertile ground for thegestation of crime networks andoperation.
Transnational organized crime is ahighly sophisticated and syndicatedcriminal activity which surpass theprimary concern of a particular single
nation. It demands a conceptualinternational cooperation to tackle. Someof these crimes that have transnational
characteristics are:(i)illicit drug trafficking(ii) illegal firearms trafficking(iii) human (women and children)
trafficking(iv) trafficking stolen vehicles(v) card fraud(vi) money laundering(vii) smuggling(viii) trafficking in stolen work of arts(ix) Advance fee fraud (a.k.a. 419)
amongst others.
III. THE NIGERIAN SITUATION
It has been argued that organized crime
weakens the very foundation of democracy,
as there can be no-good governance without
rule of law. This observation is quite apt
for the situation in Nigeria! As the nation
faces the challenges of nurturing a stabledemocracy, after many years of military
dictatorship, organized crime poses a great
threat to the survival of the country.
It is a truism that for every six black men
in the world, four are Nigerians. Therefore,
Nigeria has a dominant role to play in theinternational effort to curtail transnationalorganized crime. The participation of

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
Nigerians in organized crime whether as
passive members of the group or active
main stream members must be seen within
the context of Nigeria as the most populous
black nation in the world. At the local level,
the sophistry of organized groups can bebest described as rudimentary. However,with international linkages, theoperational base of organized crime in
Nigeria has widened beyond immediate
frontiers which is a source of great concern
to government. The Nigerian government
has mapped out policies and strategies todeal decisively with crimes that aretransnational in nature and scope.
A. Illicit Drug Trafficking
Drug trafficking undoubtedly features
prominently among international crimes
that respect no national boundaries.
Nigeria is neither a producer nor consumer
nation in the illicit drug trade. It serves
as a transit route. Most persons with
Nigerian International Passport that arearrested, prosecuted and convicted inconnection with drug trafficking arecouriers working for drug barons in othercountries.

concealment in women’s reproductive
organ (vagina), disguised as talcum
powder, packaged in small molded balls
and swallowed, engraved in cultural
artifacts to many ingenious unimaginable
methods. The drugs are transported acrossthe globe by land, air and sea.
However, be that as it may, since theestablishment of National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) by the
Nigerian government in 1989, the hitherto
upsurge in drug trafficking has reduced
considerably. Added to this, is thepromulgation of National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency Act. The Act seeks to
enforce laws against the cultivation,
processing, sale, trafficking and use of harddrugs and to empower the Agency toinvestigate persons suspected to havedealings in drugs and other related
matters. The NDLEA with the cooperationof other international agencies has
relatively fought the war against drugtrafficking to a reasonable level.

Of all transnational criminal activities
prevalent in Nigeria, the drug trade hasbrought the country much more woes andinternational pariah status than any otherhas. Drug trafficking came to official
prominence between 1983 - 1984 in Nigeria
following public execution of someconvicted drug traffickers.

B. Illegal Firearms Trafficking
Proliferation of firearms is a threat tointernational security. Illegal firearms
trafficking constituted a major componentof transnational organized crime. The everincreasing armed conflicts in many regionsof the world account for huge trafficking
in firearms. Similarly, constant politicalinstability and internal power tussle
amongst third world countries precipitatearms trafficking.

The violence associated with illicit drugtrade in some parts of the world is yet tobe witnessed in Nigeria due to the fact that
Nigeria is a stop over routes between the
producers on one hand and consumers on
the other. The couriers are mostly youths
within the age bracket of 18 - 40 years. The
methods of peddling in drugs varied from
simple concealment in personal effects,
lining of clothing, animals (pets),

The Nigerian fratricidal civil war
between 1967 - 1970 exposed the country
to influx of firearms. Also, the participationof Nigeria in Peace Keeping Operations allover the world and particularly Nigeria’s
dominant role in Economic Commission ofWest African States Monitoring Group(ECOMOG) Operations in the sub-region
serves as a likely source of illegal firearms
into the country. Apparently, the major

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
route of illegal firearms being brought into
Nigeria is through the seemingly porous
borders of neighbouring countries in the
sub-region.
Illegal firearms trafficking have
undisputedly fueled ethnic/religious armed
conflicts and armed robbery in Nigeria
which has resulted to monumental
negative consequences. Armed robbery
remains one of the major crimes in Nigeria
which is perpetrated by holders of illicit
arms.
Strategies for arms control have been
put in place by Nigerian government.
These include:(i) intensive international boundary
control(ii) cancellation of Firearms (Dealers)
Import Licence(iii) w i t h d r a w a l o f a r m s f r o mindividuals(iv) periodic check of arms on charge ina public armoury(v) Continuous recovery of arms andammunition by the Police fromarmed robbers and other criminals.
On the international sphere, under the
auspices of United Nations Regional
Centre for Peace Disarmerment in Africa
and the programme of Coordination andAssistance for Security and Development(PCASED), Nigerian governmentorganized a sub-regional workshop on the
Importation, Exportation and Manufactureof Light Weapons in West Africa. The
workshop was designed to enable theChiefs of Police, Customs and Gendarmerieof ECOWAS member states initiate aprocess of establishing an informationexchange network and strategy for thecontrol of the proliferation of light weapons
in the sub-region.

174

Under the relevant Nigerian laws, arms
trade generally is under control by theGovernment of Nigeria. It is controlled by
the issuance of relevant licenses whichindicate the types and categories of arms
and ammunition that can be traded uponby individuals and corporate organisations.
The general control and acquisition of
personal firearms in Nigeria is theprerogative of the Inspector-General of
Police in the exercise of his function as theChief Security Officer.
Any arms procured through any illegal
way is a crime. The illicit trade in arms isbeing carried out nefariously by dubious
businessmen whose identities remained
masked. It is extremely difficult todetermine the quantity of arms andammunition illegally possessed in Nigeria.
This poses a great danger to internal
security.
It is however pertinent to assert that the
Nigeria Police Force and other security
agencies as well as the government are
doing everything possible to check theactivities of these unpatriotic Nigerians
and their foreign collaborators engaged insuch criminal activities, which from allindication constitute serious threat to thesecurity of Nigeria in particular and theinternational community at large.
C. Human (Woman and Child)
Trafficking
In the recent past, the trafficking inhumans, particularly women and children
has assumed an alarming proportion
globally. Trafficking in persons has becomea big menace internationally because of its
attendant illegality and evil. Victims ofhuman trafficking are often recruited into
prostitution or child-labour or outrightslavery. The traffickers and victims are
seduced into the illicit trade by theapparent economic benefits and sermonsof success stories by those who are engaged

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
in the illicit trade.
Nigeria is a leading nation in humantrafficking in Africa. Young Nigerian girlsof the average age of 14 years are lured
into this illegal business by syndicates
operating within and outside Nigeria. The
entire business is shrouded in secrecy andsome of the victims are transported outside
Nigeria in the guise to pursue educationand gainful employment. The traffickers
employ subtle force, coercion, fraud andoutright deceit to accomplish theirobjectives.
Generally, the trafficking gravitates
towards Central Europe especially Italy
through various detected and undetectedroutes. Despite existing laws against
trafficking in human beings and related
crimes, the illegal business has continued
unabated and the government of Nigeria
is making tremendous effort to stem thetide. Recently, there has been intensive
enlightenment and educational
programmes on the dangers of humantrafficking which is linked to prostitution,
child labour and slavery. To this end,
deported Nigerians from Europe are
rehabilitated and offered alternative
employment by government.
In the same direction, the Nigeria Police
Force will be hosting international
workshop on trafficking in human beingsin November, 2000. In an effort to have anational focus on the issue, the InspectorGeneral of Police set up a National
Committee on Human Trafficking in 1995.
Similarly, a National Working Committeeon Human Trafficking was inaugurated in
December, 1999. The Head of Force
Criminal Investigation Department (FCID)
Mrs. A. J. Ojomo, fwc, Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police, as the coordinator of the
National Working Committee is piloting
the crusade against trafficking in humanbeings.

An NGO, Women Trafficking Child
Labour Eradication Foundation(WOTCLEF) pioneered by the wife of theVice President of Nigeria is sponsoring a
private Bill to the National Assembly on
the issue of women trafficking. WOTCLEF
is fighting the scourge from a moralistic
point of view. The Police is engaged inpreventive surveillance patrol, information
gathering and sporadic raids on syndicatedtraffickers.
Prostitution is said to be the world’s
oldest profession. It is a global phenomena
and a complex worldwide web. Essentially,
trafficking in humans, particularly inwomen and children, is to serve theinternational prostitution ring. The worldcommunity therefore, must amend
respective existing laws against trafficking
in human beings and adopt measures tocurtail human trafficking.
D. Advance Fee Fraud : A.k.a 419
The concept of Advance Fee Fraud ispredicated on payment of some sort of fees,tax, kick-back or brokerage on the pretencethat such is required as part of officialtransaction in existing business deals. The
Nigerian Criminal Code section 419
describes it as obtaining by false pretences.
It is an organized syndicated criminal
venture between dubious, unscrupulous
Nigerians on one hand and unsuspecting
foreigners to illegally transfer abroad non
existing funds belonging to the governmentof Nigeria or a corporate organisation in
Nigeria to an account of such gullible/
greedy foreign collaborator. Scam lettersand forged documents are mostly used inperpetuating this crime. Its most common
form is a letter to an identified foreignbusinessman who is told enticing stories
about huge profits to be made in Nigeria’s
oil, defence, banking or solid mineral sector
by the provision of an account where somemoney from a deal would be paid. The
letter is written in such a way as to attract

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
an equally dubious foreign businessman
who usually buys the scam. He is duped
after paying a certain amount of money
demanded for bribing officials responsible
for releasing the huge some of money.
The trans-global dimension this crime
has assumed is a source of concern toNigeria because of its negative
consequences on the country’s economy,
credibility, and image. The Nigerianinternational image has so much being
battered that most business proposal from
Nigeria are seen as deceptive andfraudulent. Between 1998 - July 2000, thefollowing nationals were complainants in
Advance Fee Fraud related case in Nigeria:* Germany 24* Italy 5* United States of America 16* Canada 5* India 5* South Africa 2* Japan 6* Iran 5* Australia 2* Egypt 2* New Zealand 2* Syria 1* Philippines 1* Portugal 1* Saudi Arabia 1* Israel 1* Korea 1* Taiwan 1* Nigeria 113.
(Source: Special Fraud Unit Section, Nigeria Police
Force)

This clearly shows the international
dimension of the crime. The above quoted
figure represent recorded reported cases toForce Criminal Investigation Departmentof Nigeria Police Force. Obviously, similarcases might have been reported to othersecurity agencies. Besides, most victimsof Advance Fee Fraud in Nigeria are
reluctant to report the matter officially tosecurity agencies because the victim(s) andsuspect(s) are mostly engaged in illegal
process.
Conversely, the Nigerian government
through security agencies especially the
Police, have waged unending war against
this crime. In this sense, the government

176

in 1995 promulgated Advance Fee Fraud
and other fraud related offences Decree.
Similarly, the Nigeria Police established aSpecial Fraud Unit (SFU) principally totake charge of heinous crimes of thisnature. The Nigerian law enforcement
agencies work hand-in-hand with otherinternational agencies in joint operationand investigation of the various crimes
especially the Advance Fee Fraud. The best
way of preventing advance fee fraud is
public enlightenment on the crime.
E. Trafficking in Artifacts
Works of Arts are rare and expensive
commodities in the international market.
Trafficking in stolen works of arts
constitute one of the major illicit trade that
has international connection.
International syndicates in collaboration
with their local counterparts graduallyplunder the nation’s cultural heritage.
Nigerian cherished work of arts are foundin international art galleries throughillegal routes which remain shrouded insecrecy. This unwholesome act ofinternational pillage deny Nigeria the
expected foreign earnings. The Nigerian
government views this illicit trade with a
lot of concerns. It needs some combined
efforts of Nigeria and international security
agencies to effectively control trafficking inworks of arts
F. Trafficking in Stolen Vehicles
In Nigeria, like most West Africancountries, sales of second-hand cars islucrative business. Due to general global
economic recession and harsh economic
conditions prevalent in Nigeria, hardly
could individuals affords brand new
vehicles because of the prohibitive cost.
Hence, fairly used vehicles are smuggled
into the country from the western world.
Businessmen involved in this trafficking
employ all forms of intrigues to circumvent
payment of customs duties and tariff. In
fact, most of the cars are stolen from US

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
and other European countries. These cars
find their ways to Nigeria through theinternational borders of neigbouring West
African countries with the connivance andconspiracy of international con
businessmen. In most cases, accompanying
documents to the vehicles are expertly
forged. This transnational organizedtrafficking is a disturbing trend not only
to Nigeria but most countries of the world.
International initiative must be put inplace to track stolen vehicles all over theworld and punish perpetrators accordingly.
G. Money Laundering
Money laundering has a linkage toattempts by organized and unorganised
criminal syndicates to legitimise theproceeds of their criminal activities byconcealing their true origin and ownershipin order to enable them employ such fund
for further activities.
These organized criminal groups, forexample, drug trafficking, repatriatemoney from abroad by direct purchase andre-sale of luxury items like cars andjewelry. Similarly, dirty monies are equally
passed through complex international
system of legitimate business. Professional
launderers employ various methods andtechniques to accomplish theirunwholesome activity. These include overinvoicing of goods, usage of high value andusing laundered money to capitalize apublic quoted company.
The Nigerian government is deeply
concern about the distablizing impact of thenumerous financial crimes on the nationand have articulated bold measures to fightthe menace. Prominent among thesemeasures are setting up of :(i) Money Laundering Surveillance
Unit in Central Bank of Nigeria(ii) The promulgation of the Money
Laundering Decree 1995

(iii) Public awareness campaigns
against drug trafficking, money
laundering and advance fee fraud
locally and internationally.
H. Credit Card Fraud
The use of Credit Card is not well
pronounced in Nigeria. However, dubious
Nigerian nationals home and abroad are
involved in counterfeiting and theft ofCredit Cards. The government incollaboration with other international
agencies are tackling the menace posed by
the activities of international fraudsters.
However, international remedy must be
found urgently to curb this disturbing
trend.
IV. LEGISLATION AGAINSTTRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZEDCRIMEThe Nigeria government has over theyears enacted far-reaching laws aimed at
checkmating transnational organizedcrime and punishing the perpetrators ofthese crimes. These laws include among
others:(i)
Penal Code and Criminal CodeActs. The substantive criminal
codes that cover criminal offencesin the Northern and Southern
Nigeria respectively. In relation to
prostitution and trafficking in
women, the Penal Code, codified
laws of Northern Nigeria provides:(a) Procuration of Minor Girls(section 275)
“ w h o e v e r, b y a n y m e a n s
whatsoever, induces any girlunder the age of eighteen years
to go from place or to do any act
with infant that such girls may
be, or knowing that it is likelythat she will be, forced or seduced
to illicit intercourse with anotherperson shall be punished withimprisonment which may extend

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
to ten years and shall also be
liable to fine”.
(b) I m p o r t a t i o n o f G i r l s f r o m
Foreign Country (section 276)
“whoever imports into Northern
Nigeria from any country outside
Nigeria any girl under the age oftwenty-one years with intent that
she may be, or knowing it to be
likely that she will be forced or
seduced to illicit intercourse withanother person shall be punishedwith imprisonment which may
extend to ten years and shall also
be liable to fine”.
(c) Traffick in Women (section 281)
whoever, in order to gratify thepassions of another person,
procures, entices or leads away,even with her consent, a woman
or girl for immoral purpose shallbe punished with imprisonment
which may extend to seven years
and shall also be liable to fine”.
The Criminal Code, thecodified laws for Southern
Nigeria, provides in section 419,
regarding Advance Fee Fraud
thus:“Any person who by any false
pretence and with intent to
defraud, obtains from any otherperson anything capable of being,or induces any other person todeliver to any person anything
capable of being stolen is guilty
of a felony, and is liable toimprisonment for three years”. If
the thing is of the value of one
thousand naira upwards, he isliable to imprisonment for sevenyears.”(ii) National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency - established to enforce
laws against drug trafficking.
As a deterrent to drug trafficking,
NDLEA Act in Part II, Section 10
stipulates:

178“Any person who without lawfulauthority (a) I m p o r t s , m a n u f a c t u r e s ,produces, processes, plants orgrows the drugs popularly
known as cocaine, LSD, heroineor any other similar drug shallbe guilty of an offence and liable
on conviction to be sentenced to
imprisonment for life; or(b) Exports, transports or otherwise
traffics in the drugs popularly
known as cocaine, LSD, heroineor any other similar drugs shallbe guilty of an offence and liable
on conviction to be sentenced to
imprisonment for life; or(c) Sells, buys, exposes or offers forsale or otherwise deals in or withthe drugs popularly known ascocaine, LSD, heroine or any
other similar drugs shall be
guilty of an offence and liable onconviction to be sentenced to
imprisonment for life; or(d) Knowingly possesses or use thedrugs popularly known ascocaine, LSD, heroine or any
other similar drugs by smoking,inhaling or injecting the said
drugs shall be guilty of an
offence and liable on conviction
to imprisonment for a term notless than fifteen years but notexceeding twenty-five years:(iii) Advance Fee Fraud and otherrelated offences Decree 1999 - Law
promulgated to check sharp
practices of unscrupulous local andinternational businessmen:“Besides, penalties under thisDecree, section 11 of the Decree
moreover, provides for restitution
for the victims of false pretence.
Section 11(I) provides, in addition
to any other penalty prescribedunder this Decree, the Tribunal
shall order a person convicted of an

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS(iv)

offence under this Decree to makerestitution to the victim of the false
pretence or fraud by directing that
person to do the following
a. Where the property involved ismoney, to pay to the victim, anamount equivalent to the loss
sustained by the victim, andb. In any other case;i. To return the property to thevictim or to a person
designated by him orii. To pay an amount equal tothe value of the property,
where the return of theproperty is impossible or
impracticable.”
Money Laundering Decree 1995 Law enacted for prevention of
Money Laundering.
“Section 14 of the Decree stipulates
what constituted offences under the
Decree. It provides thus: a person
who:a. Converts or transfers resources
or property derived directly or
indirectly from illicit traffic innarcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances, with the aim ofeither concealing or disguising
the illicit origin of theresources or property, or aiding
any person involved in theillicit traffic of narcotic drugs
or psychotropic substances toevade the legal consequences of
his action orb. Collaborates in concealing or
disguising the genuine nature,
origin, location, disposition,
movement or ownership of theresources, property or rights
thereto derived directly or
indirectly from illicit traffic innarcotic drugs or psychotropic
substancesc. Is guilty of an offence under thesection and liable onconviction to imprisonment fora term of not less than 15 years
or not more than 25 years.”(v) Special Tribunal (Miscellaneous
Offences) Act - An Act in respect of
miscellaneous offences with stiff
penalties and to establish a Special
Tribunal for the trial of suchoffender.
(vi) Firearms Act 1959 - An Act to makeprovision for regulating thepossession of and dealing infirearms and ammunition
including muzzle loading infirearms, and for matters ancillary
thereto(vii) Anti Corruption Act 2000 - A law
enacted to fight corruption in all
its ramifications.
(viii) Mutual Assistance in Criminal
Matters
withintheCommonwealth Enactment andEnforcement Act - An Act to makelegislative provision to give theForce of law to the scheme formutual assistance in criminal
matters
withintheCommonwealth.
(ix) Extradition Act - A law to enable
extradition of fugitive offenders
within the Commonwealth.
The aforementioned laws and many
administrative instructions are bold andarticulated legislative steps to make thecommission of transnational and related
crimes unattractive.
V. PROBLEMS
Combating transnational crime isfraught with teething problems. The
marvelous advancement in technology willdefinitely enhance the planning andexecution of transnational crime.
Criminals will advance from therudimentary modes of communication likeordinary mail, telephone to more179

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 58
sophisticated E-Mail and Internet satellite
communication facilities, thereby creating
identification and investigation problems.
Computer revolution has given birth toa new crime trend known as cyberterrorism. The detection of counterfeits andforged documents is made tedious by the
introduction of hi-tech computer scam,forgeries and advanced colour processing
techniques which render distinction
between copied document and their
originals difficult.
Internet technological knowledge has
become a familiar and householdcommodity in almost all advanced anddeveloped countries with the exception of
African countries. Consequently, African
law enforcement agencies do not possess
the technological know how to burst cybercrimes.
The proliferation in the number andcomplexity of transnational crimes will
make law enforcement capital intensive
and cumbersome. Developing countries
with their poor economic base andcompetitive development needs will hardly
cope with the responsibilities of modern
policing required in this regard. The
Criminal Justice system can only respondto the extent that it has capability torespond. The amount of money being
invested fighting crime is so small indeveloping countries in comparison toadvanced nations.
Lack of political will on the part of somecountries may pose obstacle to law
enforcement cooperation in combatingtransnational crime. It is clear that forpolitical, economic, religious and cultural
reasons, some countries are unwilling toenter into bilateral or multilateral
cooperation agreement on matters of crime
control which they assumed as
unwarranted interference with their legal

180

sovereignty. Complex and varied, theproblems militating against the effective
combating of transnational organizedcrime may be, they are certainly notinsurmountable.
VI. PROSPECTS
The attendant negative impact oftransnational organized crime on world
economies can not be overemphasised.
Therefore, to effectively combat
transnational organized crime, its
structural characteristics and operational
methods should be taken into account indevising strategies, policies, legislation andother measures designated to combat it.
A critical analysis of transnational crime
revealed an organisation which exists tocommit crimes; has hierarchical links
which enable its kingpins to control theorganisation, use of violence, intimidationand corruption to acquire wealth andcontrol territory and market, and launders
the proceeds in furtherance of infiltrationof legitimate economics. Organized crimegroups have potential for territorial
expansion beyond national borders andlinks with other criminal organisations. It
is apparent therefore, that any stratagem
aimed at combating organized crime must
be the product of the knowledge of theseorganisations and their dynamics,
statistics and information should, at every
given opportunity, be collated, analysed
and appropriately disseminated for use by
law enforcement agencies.
On the domestic sphere, to effectively
curb transnational organized crime, thefollowing methods should be addressedamong others in accordance with various
UNO resolutions on the matter:(i)Legislation penalisingparticipation in criminal
associations or conspiracies, andimposing criminal liability on

116TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
corporate bodies is necessary as ameans of strengthening preventive
capabilities;(ii) Reliable evidence gathering
techniques, such as electronic
surveillance, undercover
operations and controlled delivery
should be considered in national
law;(iii) Encouraging the cooperation andtestimony of members of organizedcriminal gangs by limiting thedisclosure of the address andidentity of witnesses, andprotection programme of witnesses
and their formation;(iv) Defeating the economic power ofcriminal organisation throughcriminal law measures withappropriate sanctions andsentences and regulatory
mechanisms. The laundering of
criminal proceeds must be
criminalised;(v) L e g i s l a t i v e a n d r e g u l a t o r ymeasure that limit financial
security, ensure adequate record
keeping and impose an obligation
for the identification and reportingof suspicious financialtransactions;(vi) Strengthening of the supervisionof passport issuance and theendorsement of protection of
passports against tampering andcounterfeiting; and(vii) Promotion through mass media
campaigns that stimulate publicawareness of the evils of organizedcrime; the need for public
participation in its prevention andthe promotion of public security.
Added to the above, and mostimportantly on the domestic front, shouldbe the establishment and management ofcourageous, incorruptible law enforcement
agencies to arrest, investigate andprosecute culprits of transnationalorganized crime to a logical conclusion.
Currently in Nigeria, the government is reorganising, re-modernizing her security
agencies especially the Police Force tosquarely face the challenges of the new
trends in the transnationalization of crime.
Transnational organized crime is aninternational activity that calls for nation
states to poll their resources to collectively
enhance peaceful, economic, social growthand development for the mutual benefit ofall. Consequently, there should be in place
workable global strategies to effectively
combat transnational organized crime
within the framework of criminal justiceprocesses. To this end, special courts withgeneral international application should becreated to deal squarely with transnationalorganized crime.
Significantly, the United Nations has
spearheaded counter-measures against
transnational organized crime. The planof action adopted during the 7th United
Nation Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
held in Milan in 1988 and the adoption ofModel Treaty on Extradition and Model
Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal
Matters in 1990, in accordance with the 8th
Congress held in Havana are pointers inthis direction.
In order to eliminate the destructive
aftermath of organized crime, international
cooperation in criminal matters should be
hinged on the following forms:(i)
Extradition;(ii) Mutual Legal Assistance;(iii) Transfer of Criminal Proceedings;(iv) Regulations and enforcement offoreign criminal judgements andsentences which may include:(a) Transfer of prisoners;(b) Transfer of supervision of
persons conditionally sentenced

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or released;(c) Enforcement of other sanctions:• Search, seizure andconfiscation of criminal
proceeds of crime;• Special investigation
techniques;• Exchange of information andtraining.
Furthermore, internationalorganisations such as ICPO-INTERPOL,
the World Customs Organisation, theUnited Nations Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, theUniversal Postal Union should be used tofull advantage in global law enforcement.
Tr a n s n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z e d c r i m i n a lorganisations are not only sophisticatedbut also heavily financed, there is need forharmonization of relevant laws, equallynations should make adequate andsufficient budgetary allocation to crime
prevention and detection.
The negative consequences oftransnational organized crime transcend
government, public and private sector.
Therefore, the burden should not be left togovernment alone to bear. The public andprivate sector should be encouraged to fundlaw enforcement cooperation programmes
aimed at eradicating organized crime. The
civil groups have comprehensive reservoirof information and knowledge on thesecriminal syndicates.
V. CONCLUSION
Undoubtedly, no effort propelled to stem
the tide of transnational crime with its
monumental and disastrous consequenceson the world order will be too great. Theinternational community will to her peril
neglect to face the challenges of modern
crime and criminality. A political systemthat allows criminals free reign will not
attract the much needed foreign182

investment necessary for all-rounddevelopment.
To ensure peace, tranquility and a
globally secured life, the modern worldmust take the issue of transnational crime,and international cooperation in combatingit, very seriously.