The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men accused of supplying illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State, as the agency intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking and abuse.
The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended in separate operations for allegedly selling dangerous substances, including opioids, to teenagers and other users.
According to the NDLEA, Obiora was arrested on June 19 following intelligence reports that he was distributing illicit drugs from his patent medicine store located on Club Road, Umuahia. A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In a related case, Orji, a pensioner, was caught by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, while allegedly supplying drugs to two students. He was subsequently handed over to the police and later transferred to NDLEA custody.
One of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) pupil, reportedly told investigators that the elderly suspect supplied him with drugs which he consumed and resold to fellow students. The students have since been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes, while the suspects are expected to face prosecution.
The agency also recorded major drug seizures in Lagos, intercepting a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, concealed in a carton shipped from China.
In another operation, NDLEA officers uncovered 300 grams of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags destined for export to Dubai through a Lagos logistics company.
The anti-narcotics agency further raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as “Lukman Ogombo,” in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos. Although the suspect was not found, officers recovered bottles of codeine syrup and quantities of skunk.
A follow-up operation at the shop of his wife, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island yielded additional codeine syrup, drug paraphernalia, and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilograms concealed in a mini-bus parked outside the premises. NDLEA operatives reportedly prevented attempts to destroy some of the evidence.
In Kogi State, operatives intercepted 33-year-old Tochukwu Onah along the Okene-Lokoja highway with 1.03 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside custard containers while travelling from Lagos to Abuja.
The agency also announced the arrest of a couple, James Tony Chukwudi and James Kehinde, in Ekiti State. The pair had been on the run since March in connection with the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives raided a house in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo Town, arresting 75-year-old Tudun Olubiyi alongside two other suspects. Officers recovered 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed under sawdust.
The crackdown extended to Edo State, where officers raided cannabis farms in Khagba Forest and Ebora Camp, destroying over four tonnes of cannabis and arresting suspects linked to the illicit cultivation and distribution network.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign across schools and communities nationwide, conducting sensitisation programmes in Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Anambra and Rivers states.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the balance between aggressive drug supply reduction efforts and public enlightenment campaigns, urging personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drugs.
The latest operations underscored the agency’s renewed determination to curb drug trafficking networks while protecting young Nigerians from substance abuse and its devastating consequences.
