The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men in Abia State for allegedly supplying illicit drugs to teenage secondary school students, as the agency intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, intercepting narcotics from China, arresting a wanted couple in Ekiti and recovering more than 5.7 tonnes of cannabis and other illicit substances across several states.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency disclosed that 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora were apprehended for their alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade targeting young people.
According to the statement, Obiora was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Friday, June 19, following credible intelligence that he was selling illicit substances to secondary school students and other users from his patent medicine store located at 4 Club Road, Umuahia, Abia State.
During a search of the premises, officers recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
Orji, an 84-year-old pensioner, was reportedly arrested by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, after allegedly supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students. He and the students were subsequently handed over to the police before being transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.
The agency said one of the teenagers, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) student, admitted during interrogation that Orji regularly supplied him with drugs which he consumed and resold to fellow students.
“While the two grandpas are billed to have their day in court, the students have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation,” Babafemi stated.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 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 through a courier company.
In a separate operation on June 16, officers also recovered 300 grams of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at another logistics company.
The agency further raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, also known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah on June 19, recovering nine bottles of codeine syrup and 30 grams of skunk.
A follow-up operation at the shop of his wife, Aisha Saraki, in the Patey area of Lagos Island led to the recovery of two additional bottles of codeine, drug paraphernalia and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilograms concealed in a mini-bus parked outside the shop.
Babafemi disclosed that operatives thwarted an attempt by Saraki to flush some of the drug exhibits down a toilet during the raid.
In Kogi State, officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway intercepted 33-year-old Tochukwu Onah travelling from Lagos to Abuja with 1.030 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard containers.
The agency also announced the arrest of a couple, James Tony Chukwudi, 48, and James Kehinde, 35, who had been on the run since the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk in Ekiti State on March 26, 2026. The duo was apprehended at Oniyo Street, Efon-Alaaye-Ekiti, on June 16.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 75-year-old Tudun Olubiyi alongside Nasiru Buhari, 22, and Buba Musa, 47, during a raid on a house in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo town.
The operation led to the recovery of 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.
In Edo State, officers arrested Patrick Imoukhede, 45, during a raid on the Khagba Forest in Ikao, Owan East Local Government Area, where 1,744.075 kilograms of skunk plantations were destroyed and an additional 169 kilograms of processed cannabis recovered.
Another operation at Ebora Camp in Ilushi, Esan South Local Government Area, resulted in the destruction of 2,424.945 kilograms of cannabis, while 45-year-old Augustine Anyamone was arrested with 395 kilograms of skunk in a separate raid.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA said its Commands across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools, communities and worship centres, including lectures at Orun Community Grammar School in Ekiti, Government Girls Secondary School in Kano, Federal Technical College in Nasarawa, Tafida Community Secondary School in Katsina and Government Technical College in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Commending the officers and personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) as well as Commands in Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi and Edo States, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their efforts in combating drug trafficking.
Marwa noted that “their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitization activities” have continued to strengthen the agency’s fight against illicit drugs, urging officers nationwide “not to rest on their laurels.”
