By Ebinum Samuel
A 93-year-old great grandpa and a 69-year-old medical doctor top the list of suspects arrested as operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intensified their offensive action and crackdown on drug cartels and their collaborators in intelligence-led interdiction operations across the country.
In one of such operations, a nonagenarian Pa Friday Ahukanna Chigbu was arrested at his home in Umuagbaigba, Amavo Nkwogu village, Osisioma local government area of Abia state on Tuesday 7th April 2026. A search of his residence led to the recovery of 7.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis. The suspect claimed he had worked as a truck pusher but later learnt painting and tiling before going into the illicit drug business over a year ago. He claimed he had been smoking skunk since 1959 before turning it into business.
Efforts to unravel local collaborators of an international drug syndicate paid off following the arrest of an Ivorian, Gohouri Michael, 41, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano with 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49kg and the subsequent arrest of a 69-year-old medical doctor, Dr. Chudi Daniel Ofomata in a follow-up operation in Ogun state.
Michael Gohouri (also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael) was arrested on Monday 16th February 2026 during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan, Malpensa via Addis Ababa.
Gohouri had arrived Lagos from Milan, Italy on 17th January, 2026 and was shuttling from Lagos to Enugu for three weeks. He later travelled to Kano where he stayed for a week before ingesting the cocaine consignment in his hotel room. He’s expected to be paid 5,000 Euros when he delivers the drugs in Milan.
Further investigation by NDLEA revealed that Gohouri had a shadowy figure behind the scene, giving him instructions on how to move the cocaine consignment through the airport. The hidden figure behind Gohouri was eventually discovered to be Dr. Chudi Daniel Ofomata who was later tracked and traced to his residence at Teachers’ Land estate, Magboro, Obafemi Owode LGA, Ogun state where he was arrested on 27th March 2026 and flown to Kano on Tuesday 7th April. Recovered from him at the point of his arrest include 63grams of promazepam and 7 ampoules of promethazine injection.
Three suspects, namely: Azeez Sanni, Olayinka Oke and Adekunle Adeyemi were arrested with 34 kilograms of skunk when NDLEA operatives raided Sango Under bridge, Sango Ota, Ogun state on Tuesday 7th April, while 56.2kg of same substance was recovered from a female suspect, Ayoka Akinwale, 26, along Onitsha- Owerri road, Owerri, Imo state on Saturday 11th April.
In Niger state, NDLEA operatives on Thursday 9th April arrested a couple: Abdullahi Umar, 32, and his wife Adama Umar, 25, during a search of their Takuti village, Lapai LGA home where 118 kilograms of skunk were recovered from their kitchen.
No fewer than 42,290 tablets of Rohypnol; 82,700 mils of codeine syrup and 10,000 mils of Pentazocine injection were recovered from a trailer loaded with vehicle spare parts coming from Nnewi, Anambra state, by NDLEA officers on patrol at Njimtilo along Damaturu-Maiduguri road, Borno state. The owner of the consignment Eleje Ibeabuchi, 43, was arrested in a follow-up operation.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Tuesday 7th April intercepted a Chisco Transport luxury bus marked AGU 442 XB going to Port Harcourt, Rivers state, along Lagos–Ibadan expressway. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 15 kilograms of Scottish Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, concealed in one of the compartments of the bus. Two suspects: Kingsley Nsofor and Opara Ifeanyi were promptly arrested.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, NDLEA officers on Saturday 11th April at Mushin area intercepted a truck conveying assorted goods going to Onitsha, Anambra state. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 26,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup and the subsequent arrest of two suspects: Adesunloye Dada and Chibuzor Chime.
A raid of the Tora Bora notorious drug joint in Abuja by NDLEA operatives on Saturday 11th April led to the arrest of eight suspects, namely: Abubakar Muhammad; Ali Isiaka; Obed Moses; Ibrahim Musa; Attahiru Audu; Kabiru Buhari; Oloruntoba Samuel; and Ellah Gyandi. A combined total of 11.516 kilograms of skunk were seized from the suspects.
In Edo state, NDLEA operatives working on actionable intelligence on Saturday 11th April intercepted two long trucks marked LUY 172 XC and LUY 281 XC with bags of processed skunk concealed among cartons of beer along Warrake road, Auchi. One of the trucks was found to contain 3,900 kilograms of skunk, while the second had 3,345 kilograms, bringing the total weight to 7,245 kilograms. Five suspects arrested in connection with the seizure include: Ibrahim Abu, 29; Abu Abdullazeez, 28; Jibril Jaminu, 35; Andrew Moses, 22 and Ganiyu Abu, 21. The consignments were loaded at Sabongida-Ora in Owan West LGA and heading to Abuja when they were intercepted.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities equally continued across Commands and formations of the Agency all over the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Child Best School, Ikorodu, Lagos; Government Science Secondary School, Ajaokuta, Kogi; Community Girls Secondary School, Danja, Katsina; Government Girls Secondary School, Dabo, Kano;
drivers, passengers and park workers at Oban-Aningheje motor park, Calabar, Cross River
and members of Anglican Youths Fellowship Diocese, Okinin, Osun state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the MAKIA, Abia, Lagos, Imo, Borno, Ogun, Niger, Edo, and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
