NDLEA’S Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has commended officers and men of the Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for their operations.
He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
This followed the agency’s arrest of a 101-year-old woman in Ogun State and interception of cocaine hidden in fufu as it seized over N4.4 billion worth of Loud at Lagos ports.
NDLEA operatives arrested Esther Ogunmabo, 101, in Ilisan, Ogun State, on Saturday, August 15, 2026. They found 90 grams of skunk, a type of cannabis, packed in retail sachets.
The great-grandmother told the operatives that she sold the drug to locals. She said she turned to the trade after fire destroyed her provisions shop.
Ogunmabo said one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the drug every four days. She then sold it in small quantities.
The NDLEA boss, however, directed that the suspect should receive bail and counselling because of her age. The operatives, however, arrested her daughter
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21. The boat carried drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon.
Three suspects were on board. Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, had 1.120kg of skunk, while Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, had 42.060kg of skunk.
Meanwhile, 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John had 20 grams of cocaine hidden inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu. He also had 435 grams of skunk. The agency recovered 42.622kg of narcotics from the three suspects.
Similarly, NDLEA recorded its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor. Operatives intercepted two containers carrying cannabis indica, also known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The agency put the combined street value at over N4.4 billion. Both containers came from the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, pointing to a new route that drug syndicates may be using to move synthetic cannabis into Nigeria.
At Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries contained 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud. NDLEA, Customs and other agencies found the drugs during a joint examination on Friday, August 21. The consignment contained 54 cartons with 2,181 sachets of 500 grams each.
At Lekki Deep Sea Port, NDLEA’s Marine Special Operations Unit had already placed another container on its watchlist. Officers jointly examined it on Wednesday, August 19, and found four of seven pallets containing Thai Loud.
The drugs filled 96 cartons and 400 parcels weighing 400kg. The other three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper used to cover the drugs.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives intercepted three waybill packages on Saturday, August 22. The packages contained 24,410 tramadol capsules inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba.
In response, operatives traced the consignment to Niger State and arrested its owner, Sunday Eze, 28, in Kontagora. They later transferred him to Abuja.
NDLEA operatives in Ondo State raided a cannabis farm in Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, on Wednesday, August 19. The raid followed the arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the same location on August 16. The team destroyed 10,000kg of skunk grown across four hectares.
The same day, operatives recovered 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA. The vehicle, with registration number AGL 223 JH, belongs to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who remains at large.
In Kwara State, operatives stopped a Toyota Starlet without a registration number along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway, Ilorin, on Friday, August 21. A search produced 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis sativa. Operatives arrested Muhammadu Usman, 22.
In a related development, operatives arrested 65-year-old Adebayo Kaosarat at Akobo-Ojuirin, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, August 21. She had 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600g of codeine syrup, 125g of diazepam and 50g of flunitrazepam. The drugs weighed 4.68kg in total.
In Kano, a raid along Hadeija Road on Monday, August 17, led to the arrest of Chibuzor Madueke, 31. Operatives recovered 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at Seme, Badagry, Lagos, arrested three family members near the Seme border. Nasiru Tijjani, 52; Moshood Tijjani, 27; and Salami Tijjani, 27, had 48kg of skunk at Ashipa area.
In Abia State, officers raided the residence of Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno, 36, at Umuobia Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA, on Thursday, August 20. They recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grams of tramadol and 134 grams of rohypnol.
NDLEA continues WADA campaign
With the same vigour, NDLEA Commands and formations continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation activities during the week.
The campaign reached schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency held WADA lectures at Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies, Ungogo LGA, Kano; Markaz Al-Furqan Centre of Islamic and Arabic Teaching, Kishi, Oyo State; School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi; Mu’assasah Tahfizui Qur’an Islamiya School, Ibi, Taraba; and the Scout Association of Nigeria’s first National Youth Camp in Benin City, Edo State.
Meanwhile, the Idiroko Special Area Command visited the Chairman of Ipokia LGA, Ogun State, Hon. Johnson Avoseh, for a WADA advocacy programme.
External links
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) — Official agency website and latest updates.
NDLEA operations and enforcement mandate — Official information on searches, raids, arrests and drug interdiction.
Nigeria Customs Service — Official Customs website and border-security information.
