By TWO octogenarians — 80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru and 82-year-old Mrs Uloma Uchechi Sunday—alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, top the list of suspects arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in recent nationwide raids.
These operations also led to the interception of opioids valued at over ₦3.2 billion at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port, Onne, Rivers State.
Ashiru, a previously convicted drug offender, served a 10-year prison sentence between 2014 and 2024. He was rearrested on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, on Barazana Street, Dogarawa area of Sabon Gari LGA, Kaduna State, by NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence.
Recovered from him were 2.3 kilogrammes of skunk, packaged in nylon and paper in retail sizes. He confessed to being involved in the illicit drug trade for the past 46 years.
Similarly, on Saturday, 17 May, NDLEA operatives in Abia State raided the home of Mrs Uloma Uchechi Sunday at Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village, recovering varying quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol, and skunk—a potent strain of cannabis.
A cash sum of ₦130,600 was also recovered from her and her daughter, Chisom. The octogenarian admitted that she and her daughter took over the drug trade after her son, who initiated the business, died two years ago.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, three million tablets of tapentadol and carisoprodol Royal 225mg, with an estimated street value of ₦2.1 billion, were seized from a container flagged by the agency based on intelligence.
The interception occurred on Wednesday, 14 May, during a joint inspection by NDLEA officers, Customs personnel, and other security agencies.
Similarly, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos on Tuesday, 13 May, NDLEA operatives intercepted another flagged container declared to contain new car parts and accessories from India.
Upon joint examination, 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup with a street value exceeding ₦1.1 billion were discovered concealed within the shipment.
In Kwara State, no fewer than 199,200 tramadol tablets were recovered from two suspects—Abdulwahab Quadir and Abdulraheem Ismail—on Friday, 16 May, following their arrest in the Gegele area of Ilorin.
NDLEA officers also raided Favour Lodge in the state capital, where an HND 1 student of the Department of Laboratory Science Technology, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ibrahim Oladimeji Abdulateef, was arrested with 650 grammes of Loud (a strong strain of cannabis), already portioned into 149 cups for sale to fellow students.
At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) on Friday, 16 May, intercepted 250 grammes of cocaine concealed in female headgear destined for Australia.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba Road on Thursday, 15 May, intercepted a Toyota Carina with registration number AGL 945 BK, conveying 316 blocks of skunk weighing 143kg.
A suspect, Idris Kamal, 35, was arrested. On the same day, at Chachi Junction along the Kaduna Road, operatives arrested Emmanuel Hassan, 26, with 14.3kg of Loud. A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of the true owner of the consignment, Bello Aliyu (alias Liti), 39.
In Nasarawa State, a 60-year-old suspect, Welman Kengbo, was arrested on Friday, 16 May, with 594.8kg of skunk in the Karu area. Another suspect, Oyenuga Toheeb, was apprehended along the Lekki–Epe Expressway in Lagos on Thursday, 15 May, with 67.5kg of the same substance.
In Taraba State, 5,350 tablets of tramadol and diazepam were recovered from a suspect, Shafiu Ismail, 22, who was arrested on Thursday, 15 May, in the Sabonlayin area of Jalingo LGA. On the same day, in Malamawa, Garki LGA, Jigawa State, Tijjani Mohammed, 35, was arrested with 198kg of skunk.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja–Kaduna highway on Friday, 16 May, intercepted 29-year-old Ismail Isah in possession of an AK-47 rifle and two magazines concealed in a sack of maize. He will be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
The NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign also continued across the country over the past week. Activities included sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff of Supreme International School, Fagge, Kano; Al-Arifeen International Academy, Kaduna; Nadado Primary School, Bakori, Katsina; Ila Orangun Grammar School, Osun State; and Government Secondary School, Onne, Rivers State, among others.
Commending the officers and men of DOGI and the Abia, Kaduna, Kwara, PHIPC, Apapa, Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Taraba, and Niger State Commands for their achievements in the past week, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), also praised all other commands nationwide for maintaining a balanced approach to both drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.
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