By Nkechi Eze
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two octogenarians alongside several other suspects in a sweeping nationwide offensive against drug trafficking, recovering large quantities of illicit substances across multiple states.
According to an official signed statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, an 83-year-old suspect, Pa John Ofiel, was arrested on Tuesday, 28 April 2026, during a raid at Samek by Powerline in Aba, Abia State. The agency recovered 700 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets from him. The suspect reportedly claimed he was previously a professional shoemaker before venturing into drug trafficking.
In a similar operation in Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 78-year-old Ogunjobi Samuel on Thursday, 30 April, at his residence on Owode Street, Ilupeju-Ekiti, where 350 grams of the same psychoactive substance were seized.
The statement further revealed that in Oyo State, two suspects, Rebecca King, 24, and Olaniyan Opeyemi, 31, were apprehended in connection with the seizure of 1.925 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. While King was intercepted along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway conveying the consignment, Opeyemi was arrested in a follow-up operation in Ibadan while attempting to receive the cargo.
In another operation in Ibadan, a notorious drug dealer, Taofik Adeyemi, 49, was arrested on Saturday, 2 May, alongside his associate, Mustapha Oyerinde, 28, after months of evading arrest. Recovered from him were 3.085 kilograms of skunk and a Toyota Camry vehicle. Two of his associates had earlier been arrested in December 2025 and are currently facing prosecution at the Federal High Court in Ibadan.
Elsewhere in Osun State, a 65-year-old driver, Oladayo Awoyemi, was arrested at the Ile-Ife toll gate while transporting 7 kilograms of skunk and 15 grams of methamphetamine concealed in his vehicle. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the consignment owner, Ifedayo Babalola, 40, in Ilesha.
In Borno State, NDLEA operatives intercepted 76,440 pills of Tramadol from a 27-year-old suspect, Yahaya Shehu, along the Damaturu-Maiduguri road. In a separate operation, a truck driver, Magaji Isa, 30, was arrested with 14,000 capsules of the same opioid, while the alleged owner, Abdulhamid Mahmud, 28, was subsequently apprehended in Biu.
The crackdown also extended to Kaduna and Jigawa States, where 290 kilograms of compressed skunk were recovered from two suspects along the Abuja-Jos highway, while 49,800 capsules of Tramadol were seized from another set of suspects in Hadejia.
In Lagos State, NDLEA operatives raided the Awolowo Market in Mushin, recovering a staggering 740 kilograms of skunk, while in Edo State, a suspect identified as Godstime Godspower, 25, was arrested with assorted illicit drugs, including Loud, Colorado, Tramadol, Swinol, and methamphetamine.
The agency noted that alongside enforcement actions, its commands nationwide sustained advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, and workplaces to curb drug demand.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across the affected states for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the current operational momentum while maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and preventive education efforts.
