The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former two-term councillor in Lagos State and intercepted several illicit drug consignments across the country, including narcotics concealed in baby diapers and components used for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The former councillor, Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan, 45, who represented the Orimedu community in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, was arrested on Monday, March 2, 2026, following intelligence linking him to drug trafficking.
According to the agency, operatives raided his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki, where 40 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from one of the rooms in the house. The suspect, who currently serves as a legislative aide, reportedly admitted ownership of both the drugs and the property where they were found.
In a separate operation in the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA officers on Tuesday, March 3, intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, while travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in Abuja.
A search of his luggage revealed 1,000 pills of tapentadol (250mg) hidden inside baby diapers. The suspect confessed that he was transporting the drugs to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, where he operates a provision store.
Also on March 3, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted 1.55 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in a standing fan carton belonging to Mey Ali Muhamat, a 36-year-old Cameroonian from Maroua in the Republic of Cameroon. The suspect was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos en route through Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri to Cameroon.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba road on Wednesday, March 4, intercepted a commercial bus from Ibadan in Oyo State carrying 500 pieces of improvised explosive device (IED) components concealed in a white sack. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Osama Abdullahi, 21, in Pelegi, Mashegu Local Government Area.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine from a truck conveying 2,000 cartons of local drinks. The drugs were discovered in a false compartment of the truck marked ENU 645XX during an operation in Yola.
Similarly, a 20-year-old suspect, Muhammed Ali, was arrested at Gadar Tamburawa in Kano State with 11,283 pills of tramadol on March 3.
In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives raided Ogere community, arresting Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa with 46 kilograms of skunk.
Two suspects, Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22, were also arrested in Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State on March 7 with 18.63 kilograms of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup, and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49, at Egbisi forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area, where 1,910.25 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on two cannabis farms. Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was apprehended in Ikhin town, Owan East Local Government Area with 176.50 kilograms of skunk.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands nationwide continued the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities. Awareness programmes were held in several schools including Government Senior College Apata in Ibadan, Government Girls Secondary School Katcha in Niger State, Government Girls Day Secondary School Tsafe in Zamfara State, Sango Junior Secondary School Agege in Lagos, Government Day Secondary School Illela in Sokoto State, Archbishop Akinola International Secondary School Afikpo in Ebonyi State, and Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School Abagana in Anambra State.
Commending officers involved in the operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged operatives across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts through enforcement and preventive advocacy.
