Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an 80-year-old ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, for allegedly returning to the illicit drug trade barely three years after serving a prison sentence for a similar offence.
The agency said Nkanta was first arrested on December 14, 2022, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Despite his conviction, the NDLEA disclosed that the octogenarian resumed drug trafficking shortly after his release.
According to the agency, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked Nkanta 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.
In a related operation in Akwa Ibom, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, on Friday, January 9. Romans was travelling with full-body mannequins reportedly meant for his clothing business in Cameroon.
A search of the mannequins revealed they were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing 5.3 kilograms. Investigations showed that the suspect, who claimed to reside in Cameroon, purchased the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, and concealed them inside the mannequins for trafficking across the border.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA raids across several locations led to the arrest of multiple suspected drug dealers and the seizure of assorted illicit substances. Among those arrested was a 45-year-old suspect, Remi Bamidele, popularly known as “Aluko the Mafia,” who was apprehended at Sasa area of Ibadan on Thursday, January 8. A total of 10.696 kilograms of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk were recovered from him, along with two vehicles — a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris.
At Adegbayi area of Ibadan, officers arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, on Friday, January 9, 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. A cash sum of ₦1,307,100 was also recovered from him on Saturday, January 10.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, at Ihama/Airport Road GRA, Benin City, on Friday, January 9, in connection with the seizure of 118 grams of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Also in Edo, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested in Irrua with 17.552 kilograms of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was apprehended in Ubiaja with 930 grams of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers recovered 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, at Dakwa town in Tafa Local Government Area. Similarly, in Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47 kilograms at Lankaviri in Yorro Local Government Area.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of a suspect, Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in Bachure area of Yola South LGA, following his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA said its commands nationwide have continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities, including outreach programmes in Jigawa, Kano and Ebonyi states.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger State commands for their arrests and seizures, describing their efforts in drug supply and demand reduction as commendable.
