By Nkechi Eze
In a sweeping nationwide operation that underscores Nigeria’s unrelenting war against drug trafficking and abuse, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered multiple consignments of illicit substances concealed in everyday items, dismantled drug networks across states, and raided a Lagos nightclub hosting a drug party, leading to several arrests, including that of popular socialite, Pretty Mike.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, a total of 70 parcels of cocaine weighing 3.60 kilograms and factory packed in walls of cocoa butter formula body cream containers were intercepted at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The consignment, destined for London, United Kingdom, was discovered on October 14, 2025, during an examination of cargoes disguised as personal effects bound for the UK via an Air Peace flight.
A cargo agent, identified as Lawal Mustapha Olakunle, who presented the consignment for air freight, was promptly arrested. Follow-up investigations spanning two weeks led to the arrest of two principal suspects: a female healthcare worker, Ogunmuyide Taiwo Deborah, apprehended on October 18, and Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, Chief Executive Officer of Mutiu Adebiyi & Co Travel Agency, who was arrested at his office on 23 Ladoke Akintola Street, Ikeja GRA, on October 20.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, thwarted an attempt by a 35-year-old Lesotho national, Lemena Mark, to export 103.59 grams of methamphetamine concealed in a Diabeta Herbs coffee tea pack to the Philippines via an Ethiopian Airlines flight on October 22. The suspect was arrested and the illicit substance recovered.
Similarly, operatives in Kwara State arrested one Umar Abubakar, aged 40, at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area with 21,950 capsules of tramadol 250mg concealed inside a 100-litre water heater following credible intelligence on October 21.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, October 26, stormed Proxy Night Club at 7 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, where a drug party was in progress. Over 100 suspects, including the owner of the club, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike, were arrested and taken into custody for screening. The raid, which followed actionable intelligence, saw the recovery of cartons of illicit substances, including Loud and laughing gas, from both suspects and the club’s store. Officers who had infiltrated the party at about 11 p.m. on Saturday disrupted the gathering around 3 a.m. Sunday in line with the Agency’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Meanwhile, in Taraba State, NDLEA operatives on October 21 intercepted a truck loaded with building materials conveying 450,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5. Two suspects, identified as Auwal Musa, 26, and Salihu Bala, 22, were arrested at the Dan-anacha checkpoint while transporting the drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Mubi, Adamawa State.
Similarly, along the Okene/Lokoja highway in Kogi State, 162.2 kilograms of skunk were seized from a truck on October 24, while operatives in Nasarawa State recovered 128 kilograms of the same substance from a suspect, Abubakar Muhammad, 55, at Keffi on October 22.
In another breakthrough, a mother of two, identified as Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, a major distributor of high-grade cannabis strains known as Canadian and California Loud across Lekki, Ajah, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and VGC areas of Lagos, was arrested on October 17. The operation, carried out at her Lekki residence, led to the recovery of 500 grams of the illicit substances.
The Agency also recorded successes in Ikorodu, Lagos, where on October 23, operatives raided the residence of a suspect, Ogunyabo Adenigbigbe, at Solomade Estate and recovered 275 litres of “skuchies” a new psychoactive concoction made from black currant drink, cannabis, and opioids.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers arrested a 75-year-old grandfather, Echendu Onuoka, with 4.7 kilograms of skunk at Ovum village, Obingwa Local Government Area, on October 22. In the same LGA, a 60-year-old grandmother, Aukana John, was apprehended with 225 grams of the substance at Apanta village.
Further operations in Ondo and Kaduna States yielded additional seizures. At Lot Camp, Ikun Akoko, Ondo, 150 kilograms of skunk were recovered, while in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, two suspects, Bashir Mohammad, 50, and Samini Ahmed Tijjani, 35, were arrested with 234.5 kilograms of skunk at Yan Aya, Saminaka, on October 24. Another set of suspects, Isah Usman, 50, and Salvation Okoler, 18, were nabbed along the Abuja-Kaduna highway with 8,600 pills of tramadol 225mg and rohypnol.
At the Seme border area of Lagos, operatives arrested one Jacob Ojugbele with 55 kilograms of skunk at Ashipa, Badagry, and another suspect, Amusa Oluwabukola, with 121.3 litres of skuchies at Itoga, Badagry, on October 22.
In Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Gummi–Anka road on October 20 intercepted a suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, 30, in possession of an AK-47 rifle and 1,746 assorted rounds of ammunition for AK-47 and GPMG rifles. The suspect and exhibits have since been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
In line with its balanced approach to the national drug control strategy, NDLEA formations across the country also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in the past week. Outreach activities were conducted at schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, including Asabari Grammar School in Oyo, Government Day Girls Secondary School in Birnin Kebbi, St. Mark’s College in Nsude, Kusaki Secondary School in Gboko, Government Day Secondary School in Taraba, Police Children School 2 in Port Harcourt, and Hajara Ahmad International School in Kano, among others.
Commending the operatives across MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Kwara, Abia, Nasarawa, Kogi, Ondo, Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Seme, and Zamfara Commands for their efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded their dedication and professionalism. He urged them to sustain the momentum in line with the agency’s balanced and proactive approach to tackling drug trafficking, abuse, and associated criminality across Nigeria.
