The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested an 80-year-old grandfather, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, barely three years after he was earlier apprehended, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for drug-related offences.
The agency disclosed that Nkanta was first arrested on December 14, 2022, prosecuted and subsequently sentenced to two years in prison by a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
This development was made public in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi revealed that NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked the octogenarian ex-convict to his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, where he was arrested with 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, found in his home.
Also in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka road in Oron Local Government Area on Friday, January 9, intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, who was travelling with full-body mannequins intended for his clothing business in Cameroon.
Babafemi said a search of the mannequins revealed that they had been stuffed with tramadol pills weighing a total of 5.3 kilograms.
According to the agency, the suspect claimed he resides in Cameroon and was returning after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was arrested.
Investigations further revealed that the suspect purchased the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, and was trafficking them to Cameroon for sale, using two mannequins to conceal the opioids.
In Oyo State, coordinated raids across different locations led to the arrest of several notorious drug dealers and the seizure of dangerous illicit substances. Among those arrested was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, also known as ‘Aluko the Mafia’, who was apprehended at Sasa, Ibadan, with a total of 10.696 kilograms of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all cannabis variants.
At the time of his arrest on Thursday, January 8, two vehicles — a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD — were recovered from him.
Similarly, NDLEA officers on Friday, January 9, arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, at the Adegbayi area of Ibadan with various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk. Another suspect, Habeeb Ali, 29, was arrested at Ring Road, Ibadan, with 1.264 kilograms of Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk.
An amount of ₦1,307,100 was also recovered from him as a cash exhibit at the point of his arrest on Saturday, January 10.
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside two other suspects, Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, were arrested on Friday, January 9, at Ihama/Airport Road, GRA, Benin City, in connection with the seizure of 118 grams of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Meanwhile, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested in Irrua with 17.552 kilograms of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while another suspect, Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was apprehended in Ubiaja with 930 grams of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 4,000 pills of tramadol 225mg from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, in Dakwa town, Tafa Local Government Area. In a separate operation, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47 kilograms in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State on Wednesday, January 7.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of a suspect, Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in the Bachure area of Yola South Local Government Area. This followed his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.
The agency noted that its commands and formations across the country also sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities during the past week.
Commending the officers and men of the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger State commands for their arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said their operational successes and balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts were well appreciated.
