THREE years after launching a manhunt for him over drug trafficking offences, a notorious drug kingpin, 36-year-old Sunday Ibigide, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Asaba, Delta State, while attempting to move 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138 kilogrammes using his distribution bus.
Ibigide had come under the NDLEA’s radar on 19th March 2022, in connection with the seizure of 24.137kg of the same psychoactive substance and 10 grammes of molly, but subsequently went into hiding. However, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives in Delta State successfully arrested him alongside one of his aides, Clement Osuya, 27, as they attempted to distribute the 250 parcels of skunk on Sunday 10th August 2025.
No fewer than six suspects were arrested on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th August when NDLEA operatives, supported by the military and local vigilantes, raided three cannabis farms in Enugu Ezike, Enugu State, where a total of 37,500kg of skunk was destroyed on 15 hectares of farmland. Those arrested include: Ugwuanyi Chinaso, 23; James Negedu, 26; Sopuruchukwu Obido, 22; Ebuka Onu, 30; Ukwueze Sunday, 42; and Oguche Friday. In addition, 74.5kg of the illicit substance was recovered for prosecution.
Meanwhile, on Saturday 16th August, 20,700 pills of tramadol and cocodamol were seized from a suspect, Emmanuel Ayogu, 53, by NDLEA officers on patrol along Nsukka Road, 9th Mile, Enugu. On the same day, two other suspects—Nsubechukwu Achidde, 24, and Osiaja Simple Frank, 41—were arrested with 27.6kg of skunk at New Market, Enugu.
In Lagos, a 52-year-old woman, Muyibat Mumuni, and her son, Faruk Mumuni, 25, were arrested by NDLEA operatives at Ladega Street, Mushin, on Wednesday 13th August for storing and distributing 298 blocks of Ghana Loud, weighing 149kg. Another suspect, Emmanuel Samuel, was apprehended on Friday 15th August in the Ajah area of Lekki, where 8.5kg of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, was recovered from his apartment.
In Gombe State, 128,000 capsules of tramadol were recovered from a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 32, who was arrested at Jauro Jatau on Monday 11th August. Similarly, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Okene–Lokoja Highway in Kogi State seized 337,800 capsules of tramadol from the driver of a commercial bus, Sulaiman Oyedokun, 47, who was travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State to Kontagora, Niger State.
In Taraba State, a total of 11,250kg of skunk was destroyed across 4.5 hectares of farmland on Tuesday 12th August, during a raid in the Tanmiya Forest, Sardauna LGA, conducted with support from the Sardauna Emirate Council and the Nigeria Forest Hunters Security Service. On Saturday 16th August, a suspect, Saleh Babangida, 20, was arrested at a checkpoint in Wukari with 29,840 capsules of tramadol.
In Kaduna State, two suspects—Mohammed Amdife, 46, and Sulaiman Mohammed, 22—were arrested for possessing 22,640 pills of tramadol and rohypnol at Gwargwaje checkpoint, Zaria, and Tudun Wada. Two more suspects—Caroline David, 51, and Abdulhadi Umar, 30—were arrested following the seizure of 111.1kg of skunk along the Zaria–Kano Road.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, a massive haul of 875,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup (worth over ₦6.1 billion in street value) and 3,500,000 pills of trodol benzhexol (valued at ₦1.7 billion) was recovered from five containers under NDLEA surveillance. This operation was conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Service and other security agencies on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th August, at the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT).
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 13th August recovered 24 bags of skunk, weighing 432kg, in a bush along the Warake–Auchi Road in Etsako West LGA, while 130kg of the same substance was seized from a warehouse in Sobe, Owan West LGA, the following day.
Elsewhere in Kano State, a suspect, Tahiru Madu Manga, 25, was arrested with 16kg of skunk along the Zaria–Kano Road, while another suspect, Ibrahim Audu, 47, was caught with 76kg of the same substance at Gadar Tamburawa on Wednesday 13th August.
In Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection at Gbaji checkpoint on Monday 11th August, arresting a suspect, Akeem Adegun, in connection with the seizure.
In addition to enforcement operations, NDLEA continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities. Advocacy visits were paid to prominent leaders including: former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger State; the Emir of Borgu Kingdom, HRH Alhaji Muhammad Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro IV; the Emir of Lafia, Hon. Justice Sidi Bage Mohammed (Rtd); and the Shehu of Borno, HRH Dr Abubakar Umar Ibn Garbai Elkanemi in Maiduguri, Borno State.
