By Nkechi Eze
Three weeks after slipping through the dragnet of anti-narcotics operatives, the notorious drug supplier to bandits terrorising parts of Niger State, Mohammed Sani, popularly known as Gamboli, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), dealing a major blow to the illicit drug supply chain fueling criminal violence in the area.
Gamboli, 33, was apprehended on Thursday, 11 December 2025, at one of his drug joints in Anguwan Fadama, Kuta, in Shiroro Local Government Area, following weeks of sustained intelligence-led manhunt by NDLEA operatives. His arrest came barely three weeks after he escaped during a raid on his residence at Anguwan Makera, Kuta, on 20 November, when NDLEA officers recovered a staggering 471.8 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. Intelligence reports had consistently fingered Gamboli as a major supplier of illicit drugs to bandits operating across Shiroro, a link authorities say has worsened insecurity in the area.
The arrest was disclosed in an official statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, as part of a sweeping nationwide offensive that also uncovered a clandestine codeine syrup factory, intercepted opioid consignments bound for Europe and North America, and led to multiple high-profile seizures and arrests across several states.
In Abia State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 11 December, uncovered and dismantled a secret codeine syrup manufacturing factory located at Amapu Igbengwo village, Umuakpara, in Osisioma Local Government Area. During the raid, officers recovered 9,015 bottles of codeine syrup with a combined weight of 1,152.2 kilograms, exposing a dangerous illegal operation feeding Nigeria’s opioid abuse crisis.
Enugu State also recorded major arrests on the same day, as operatives intercepted Ossai Emeka, 45, along the Onitsha–Enugu Ezike Road with 7.2 kilograms of skunk, while Enoje Agada, 40, was nabbed along the Enugu-Ezike–Ette Road with 94.6 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance.
In Oyo State, a raid on a notorious drug den known as “Beere the California” at Ido on Thursday, 11 December, led to the seizure of 3.4 kilograms of skunk, 1.6 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, and 400 grams of methamphetamine. While the owner of the joint, identified as “Idowu the killer,” escaped, a suspect, Ajibade Faruk, was arrested at the scene. A follow-up operation at Idi Oro, Elekuro, Ibadan, on Friday, 12 December, resulted in the arrest of Olusanya Abosede, 35, and the recovery of 238.4 kilograms of skunk.
At the Gbaji checkpoint along Seme Road, Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA officers on Wednesday, 10 December, arrested Bashiru Babalola, 43, and Ugunwale Ranti, 50, with 50,000 pills of tramadol 250mg. In neighbouring Ogun State, operatives arrested Akinwale Makanjuola and Joseph Owolabi with 73 kilograms of skunk at Iperu, while another suspect, Wasiu Lateef, was apprehended with 25 kilograms of the same substance at Oke Agbede, Imeko area, on Tuesday, 9 December.
One of the most significant seizures occurred in Ondo State, where NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence raided a compound in Ogbese, Akure North Local Government Area, on Monday, 10 December. The operation led to the arrest of a 55-year-old woman, Veronica Obi, and her 29-year-old son, Bright Obi, with a massive haul of 1,187 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds recovered from the premises.
In Edo State, a raid at Uroe community in Owan East Local Government Area on Tuesday, 9 December, resulted in the arrest of Ohiomah Igbafe, 44, and the seizure of 461 kilograms of skunk and its seeds. Gombe State also recorded major interceptions, as operatives arrested Muhammed Sani, alias Sha-Mu-Sha, 50, at Tunfure area with 40,000 capsules of tramadol. Two other suspects, Muhammad Abdullahi, also known as Sakalala, 52, and Muhammed Hamza, alias Mamman, 32, were arrested at Ashaka Jalingo with 56 kilograms of skunk on Monday, 8 December.
Beyond domestic operations, the NDLEA foiled international drug trafficking attempts involving opioids concealed in everyday items. No fewer than 907 pills of tramadol, tapentadol, cocodamol, amitriptyline and bromazepam hidden in containers of local black soap and designer wears were intercepted in six separate consignments bound for the United States, Canada and Sweden. The seizures were made at two major courier companies in Lagos between Tuesday, 9 December, and Wednesday, 10 December 2025.
At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers on Saturday, 13 December, intercepted a containerised consignment of 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 23,579 kilograms during a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, marking one of the largest codeine interceptions in recent times.
Alongside enforcement, the Agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign nationwide over the past week. Enlightenment lectures were delivered to students and staff of Community Senior Secondary School, Sheme, Katsina; Government College, Tudun Wada Dankade, Kano; and Methodist High School, Makurdi, Benue. In Enugu State, the NDLEA Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Chairman of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Ikechukwu Samuel Asadu.
Commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) and the Niger, Abia, Oyo, Enugu, Seme, Ogun, Ondo, Gombe, Apapa and Edo Commands for what he described as their “dexterity, professionalism and resilience,” the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to remain steadfast.
He enjoined operatives across the country to continue with the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining aggressive law enforcement with sustained drug demand reduction efforts, as Nigeria intensifies its battle against drug abuse and trafficking at home and across its borders.
