Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
BARELY three years after serving a two-year jail term for illicit drug dealing, an 80-year-old grandfather, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, has been rearrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly returning to the illegal trade.
Nkanta, a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested by the NDLEA on 14 December 2022 and subsequently convicted and sentenced by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Unrepentant after his release, he reportedly resumed drug trafficking.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 10 January 2025, tracked the octogenarian to his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area, where he was arrested with 5.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
In another operation in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area on Friday, 9 January, intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans. He was travelling with full-body mannequins intended for his clothing business in Cameroon.
A search revealed that the mannequins were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing 5.3 kilogrammes.
Romans, who claimed to be based in Cameroon, was reportedly returning after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended.
Investigations revealed that he purchased the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, and concealed them inside two mannequins for onward trafficking to Cameroon.
In Oyo State, coordinated raids across Ibadan led to the arrest of several suspected drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances.
Among them was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, popularly known as “Aluko the Mafia,” who was arrested at Sasa, Ibadan, on Thursday, 8 January.
A total of 10.696 kilogrammes of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk were recovered from him, alongside two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD.
Also in Ibadan, NDLEA officers arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, at Adegbayi area on Friday, 9 January, with various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk.
Another suspect, Habeeb Ali, 29, was apprehended at Ring Road on Saturday, 10 January, with 1.264 kilogrammes of Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk. A cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100 was recovered from him at the point of arrest.
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside two other suspects—Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25—were arrested on Friday, 9 January, at Ihama/Airport Road, GRA, Benin City, following the seizure of 118 grammes of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Further arrests in the state saw Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, apprehended in Irrua with 17.552 kilogrammes of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was arrested in Ubiaja with 930 grammes of skunk on Wednesday, 7 January.
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.
Similarly, in Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47 kilogrammes.
In Adamawa State, a total of 30,950 capsules of tramadol were recovered from the residence of Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in the Bachure area of Yola South Local Government Area.
His arrest followed an earlier interception at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, 6 January.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA said its commands nationwide sustained anti-drug advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative during the week. Sensitisation activities were carried out in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including lectures at Government Day Science and Technical College, Babura, Jigawa State; Abiayubal Ansari Islamiyya School, Fagge Local Government Area, Kano; and among youths of Oshituma Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo in Ebonyi State.
Commending the officers and men of the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger commands for their efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their operational successes and balanced approach to drug supply reduction and demand reduction nationwide.
