Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) have arrested two elderly men, an 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and a 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, over alleged involvement in the sale of illicit drugs to teenage secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State.
The arrests were part of a broader nationwide crackdown in which the agency also intercepted drug consignments, apprehended a wanted couple in Ekiti State, and arrested several suspects, including a 75-year-old woman, during operations in Oyo State.
According to the agency, Obiora was arrested on Friday, June 19, 2026, following credible intelligence that he sold illicit substances, including opioids, from a patent medicine shop located on Club Road, Umuahia. A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of substances including tramadol and diazepam.
In a separate case, Orji, a pensioner, was arrested after security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, allegedly caught him supplying drugs to two teenage students. He was subsequently handed over to the police and later transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.
One of the students, a 15-year-old SS2 pupil, reportedly confessed that the 84-year-old supplied him with drugs, which he also distributed to other students.
The NDLEA said the two suspects will be prosecuted, while the students involved have been placed under counselling and rehabilitation.
In other operations, the agency intercepted a shipment of ADB-Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, at a courier company in Lagos. The 9.5-kilogram consignment arrived from China concealed in a carton.
In another seizure, operatives recovered 300 grams of “Loud,” a strong strain of cannabis, hidden in ladies’ handbags at a Lagos logistics firm.
The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, recovering codeine syrup and skunk, while a follow-up operation at his wife’s shop led to additional seizures of drugs and paraphernalia. Attempts by the wife to dispose of evidence were reportedly foiled by operatives.
In Kogi State, NDLEA officers intercepted a suspect transporting methamphetamine concealed in custard containers along the Okene–Lokoja highway. Meanwhile, a couple wanted over a 117-kilogram cannabis seizure in Ekiti State were arrested after months on the run.
In Oyo State, operatives arrested three suspects after raiding a building in the Dangote area of Oyo town, where they recovered 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed in jumbo bags covered with sawdust.
The agency also carried out multiple forest raids in Edo State, destroying large quantities of cannabis plantations and arresting suspects linked to drug cultivation and trafficking.
Across the country, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centres, and communities as part of efforts to curb substance abuse.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the momentum in the nationwide drug control campaign.
