By Nkechi Eze
After 13 years in hiding, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have taken into custody a notorious drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, bringing to a close a long manhunt tied to major cocaine and heroin shipments through Nigeria’s busiest airport.
The arrest followed years of investigation and renewed operations linked to large consignments of illicit drugs traced to him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
In an official signed statement, the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 over the shipment of cocaine into Nigeria. He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/187c/2923. However, after being granted bail that same year, he jumped bail and went underground.
His name resurfaced prominently in February 2024 as one of the masterminds behind the importation of 49.70 kilograms of heroin from South Africa. The consignment was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Lagos airport.
A follow-up operation conducted on 19 February 2024 at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located at No. 16/18 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, led to the recovery of an additional 2.20 kilograms of heroin from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. Following that development, Chidiebere once again disappeared from public view.
The agency subsequently secured an interim forfeiture of his hotel and blocked all bank accounts traced to him in 2024. Under mounting pressure and unable to sustain life in hiding, Chidiebere eventually surrendered to the agency on 13 February 2026. He is now in custody and will face the pending charges for which he jumped bail in 2013, alongside fresh charges connected to the 2024 heroin consignments.
Beyond the high-profile arrest, NDLEA operatives recorded significant breakthroughs across multiple states in the past week.
In Imo State, officers on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, dismantled a clandestine laboratory concealed in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, in Njaba Local Government Area. A total of 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine were recovered, along with a large quantity of precursor chemicals and production equipment used in manufacturing the illicit substance.
At the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a Togolese woman, Hadiza Musa, on Friday, 27 February, at the departure tarmac. She had concealed 5,000 pills of tramadol in her luggage. In a separate operation on Wednesday, 25 February, operatives recovered 1,040 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from an uncompleted building at Akodo village, Seaside Eleko, along the Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos.
In Kano State, a 45-year-old suspect, Ashiru Bala, was arrested at Lambu in Tafa Local Government Area on Wednesday, 25 February, with 1,499 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in his Volkswagen Golf car marked CA 911 ABC. In Katsina State, Yahaya Usaini, 21, was nabbed on Friday, 27 February, while transporting 87.4 kilograms of skunk in a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number KUJ 544 RL along the Zaria–Dutsinma road.
Operatives in Osun State arrested two suspects, Adewale Fatunmise, 40, and Adebisi Korede, 25, on Monday, 23 February, in connection with the seizure of 18.085 kilograms of skunk at the Aregbe area of Osogbo.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence intercepted a Mercedes-Benz vehicle marked KWL-607DC along Bali–Suntai road on Thursday, 26 February. A staggering 637,600 pills of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam and exol-5, were recovered while being transported to Baruwa in Gashaka Local Government Area. A similar interdiction at Lankaviri Yorro area led to the arrest of Musa Usman, 27, and the seizure of 126.022 kilograms of skunk.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, 499.2 kilograms of skunk were recovered at the Dei-Dei area on Wednesday, 25 February. In Borno State, Bulama Modu, 24, was intercepted in a commercial vehicle along the Bama–Konduga road on Tuesday, 24 February, conveying 7,000 capsules of tramadol.
Alongside its supply reduction efforts, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign nationwide. Sensitisation lectures were delivered to students and staff of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Tungan Magajiya in Niger State; Federal Government College, Odo Oru, Ogbomoso in Oyo State; Government Day Senior Secondary School, Fagam in Jigawa State; Government Science College, Esuk Ekpoeyo in Cross River State; and Government Junior Secondary School, Rumfa College in Kano State, among others.
Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Seme, Lagos, Imo, Borno, Kano, Katsina, Taraba, Osun and FCT Commands for the week’s arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), praised their persistence and professionalism. He also applauded commands nationwide for maintaining a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Reacting to the eventual arrest of Chidiebere after 13 years on the run, Marwa declared that the agency remains resolute in dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that all offenders are brought to justice.
“I commend our officers and men for their persistence and professionalism in this operation,” he said, underscoring the agency’s unwavering commitment to the war against illicit drugs in Nigeria.
