The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a string of major breakthroughs in its war against illicit drugs with the arrest of a notorious kingpin in Delta State, the interception of opioids worth over ₦7.8 billion at the Onne Port Complex in Rivers, and the destruction of large cannabis farms across the country.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said the 36-year-old kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, had been on the run since March 2022 when he was linked to the seizure of over 24kg of skunk and molly. He explained that Ibigide was finally apprehended in Asaba on August 10, 2025, while attempting to move 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138kg in a distribution bus. His arrest was carried out alongside that of his aide, Clement Osuya, 27, following credible intelligence.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a major drug shipment at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, where 875,000 bottles of codeine syrup valued at over ₦6.1 billion and 3.5 million pills of benzhexol worth ₦1.7 billion were recovered from five containers during a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
Across other parts of the country, NDLEA officers destroyed over 48,000 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on farmlands in Enugu and Taraba States, and seized hundreds of thousands of opioid pills on highways and in urban centres. Several suspects, including farmers, traffickers, couriers, and distributors were arrested in connection with the seizures. In Lagos, a 52-year-old woman, Muyibat Mumuni, and her son, Faruk, 25, were taken into custody for storing and distributing nearly 150kg of Ghana Loud in Mushin, while other arrests were recorded in Lekki, Kaduna, Edo, Gombe, Kogi, and Kano States with large quantities of tramadol, skunk, and other illicit substances recovered.
The Agency also intercepted ketamine injections at Badagry, and its patrol teams across key highways disrupted several trafficking routes, preventing dangerous pharmaceutical opioids from reaching their destinations.
While operations intensified, the Agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities with advocacy visits to traditional and national leaders including former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Emir of Borgu, the Emir of Lafia, and the Shehu of Borno, among others, to deepen collaboration in curbing the menace of drug abuse.
Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men involved in the various raids and seizures, urging them to sustain the balanced approach of the Agency’s drug control efforts combining enforcement with advocacy.
