…As Marwa Commends Officers for Nationwide Seizures, Arrests, and Advocacy Campaigns
By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a major consignment of cocaine and tramadol ingeniously concealed in 71 vehicle side mirrors at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in what marks another breakthrough in Nigeria’s ongoing war against illicit drugs. The seizure, which was en route to Libreville, Gabon, has led to the arrest of at least three suspects linked to the cargo in follow-up operations.
According to a statement signed by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the first batch of the intercepted cargo comprising 57,420 pills of tramadol 225mg and 57 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms was discovered on Saturday, July 19, 2025, aboard an Air Côte d’Ivoire flight. The agency swiftly arrested a well-known cargo agent, Ihekweme Osinachi Benedict, who was handling the shipment.
Further investigations led to the arrest of another suspect, Uzochukwu Godspower Chukwurah, on Sunday, July 20. A subsequent raid on Uzochukwu’s residence on Monday, July 21, yielded an additional 11 parcels of cocaine hidden in four more vehicle mirrors. This brought the total cocaine haul to 68 parcels, weighing 2.60 kilograms.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a businesswoman, Mrs. Nwafor Roseann Nneka, on Friday, August 1, at her shop in the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos. The arrest followed the earlier seizure of 100 grams of cocaine and 300 grams of phenacetine, used to cut cocaine disguised in ladies’ lipsticks bound for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on July 10. Two cargo agents associated with the shipment had already been apprehended, and Mrs. Nwafor confessed to procuring the lipsticks while her husband, Remigus Nwafor currently on the run handled the concealment.
The drug war also intensified in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where NDLEA operatives, during a coordinated intelligence-led stop-and-search operation on Wednesday, July 30, arrested three dispatch riders: Sabo Sule, 24; Samuel Nnamdi, 28; and Idris Jibrin, 28, for distributing illicit drugs across Gwarimpa, Jahi, and Galadimawa. Recovered from them was 149.8 grams of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis. Additionally, Aliyu Abubakar, 25, and Adekunle Agbabiaka, 30, were intercepted along the Abaji-Gwagwalada expressway with 91.1 kilograms of skunk on Saturday, August 2.
In Lagos, intelligence operations led to the arrest of Joseph Michael in Mushin with 3.3 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant, on Saturday, August 2. A day earlier, Ibrahim Sulaiman was apprehended in Iwaya, Yaba, with 16.5 litres of “skuchies”, a mixture of drugs and alcohol.
In Benue State, NDLEA operatives arrested Hussein Yusuf, 37, at a checkpoint on the Vandeikya-Ogoja road with no fewer than 100,000 tramadol capsules on Friday, August 1. That same day, a raid on a warehouse in Ekpoma, Edo State, led to the arrest of William Alabi, 44, and the seizure of 233.5 kilograms of skunk.
At the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport (MBIAM) in Maiduguri, Borno State, a passenger, Umar Aminu, 38, was arrested with 160 tramadol pills concealed in footwear on Friday, August 1. In Ogun State, Yahaya Aminat Seyi was apprehended in Oja Odan with 7,218 pills of opioids, primarily tramadol, while in Oyo State, 54-year-old Oladeji Saka was caught in Asanike, Ibadan, with 77.5 kilograms of skunk.
In Delta State, operatives arrested Benson Izah, 40, in Abraka with 12.5 kilograms of skunk, 1 kilogram of tramadol, and 14.4 litres of codeine. Likewise, in Bayelsa, Chief Emeka Opara, 52, and Onuoha Chidinma, 25, were apprehended in Amassoma with 41,705 tramadol capsules and other opioids recovered from their shop and residence.
The Kano Command also recorded success with the arrest of Bashir Gambo, 30, in Yar Yasa town, Tudun Wada LGA, with 61 kilograms of skunk. In Osun State, Kabiru Ayinde, 40, and Roqeeb Adekanmbi, 25, were arrested in Ile-Ogbo, Iwo town, with 90 kilograms of skunk, 36.3 grams of methamphetamine, a Toyota bus marked SMK 755 YF, and ₦228,200 in cash.
Beyond arrests and seizures, the NDLEA intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation efforts across Nigeria. Enlightenment lectures and advocacy campaigns were conducted at Ciroma Ibrahim Islamiyya School, Potiskum, Yobe State; Sultan Maccido Institute for Qur’an and General Studies, Wamakko, Sokoto; metro driver terminals of Borno Express Transport Services in Maiduguri; and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Abakpa Nike, Enugu State. The Osun State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Oluwo of Iwo land, His Imperial Majesty Oba Abdurasheed Adewale Akanbi.
Commending the Agency’s Commands in Lagos, MMIA, MBIAM, FCT, Benue, Edo, Delta, Ogun, Oyo, Bayelsa, Kano, and Osun States, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers for their diligence, vigilance, and commitment.
“I urge you all to maintain the momentum and continue deploying a balanced approach that combines firm enforcement with widespread sensitisation. The battle against drugs must be won on all fronts,” Marwa charged.
As drug traffickers resort to increasingly sophisticated concealment methods, the NDLEA continues to match their audacity with greater vigilance, strategic intelligence, and unwavering resolve.
