Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
In a startling series of raids that has laid bare the sheer audacity of Nigeria’s narcotics underworld, officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 93-year-old great-grandfather and a 69-year-old medical doctor in a sweeping crackdown on trafficking networks operating across a dozen states.
Pa Friday Ahukanna Chigbu, a nonagenarian who claims to have first smoked skunk back in 1959, was taken into custody at his home in Umuagbaigba, Amavo Nkwogu village, Osisioma local government area of Abia State on Tuesday 7th April. A thorough search of his modest residence yielded 7.7 kilograms of skunk – a potent strain of cannabis.
The elderly suspect, who becomes a great-grandfather, told stunned investigators that he had once worked as a truck pusher before learning painting and tiling. He allegedly admitted to turning to the illicit drug trade just over a year ago, having spent more than six decades as a user before deciding to become a supplier.
In a separate intelligence-led operation that has exposed the shadowy reach of an international drug syndicate, NDLEA officers at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport arrested an Ivorian national, Gohouri Michael, 41, as he prepared to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan via Addis Ababa on Monday 16th February. Concealed inside his body were 82 wraps of cocaine with a total weight of 1.49 kilograms.
Gohouri, who also goes by the name Anunwa Onyinye Michael, had arrived in Lagos from Milan on 17th January and spent three weeks shuttling between Lagos and Enugu before travelling north to Kano. He reportedly holed up in a hotel room for a week to ingest the cocaine consignment ahead of his attempted departure. He was promised 5,000 Euros upon successful delivery in Italy.
But it was the subsequent follow-up operation that sent shockwaves through the agency. Investigators painstakingly traced a shadowy figure who had been feeding Gohouri instructions from behind the scenes – a 69-year-old medical practitioner, Dr Chudi Daniel Ofomata.
The doctor was tracked to his residence at Teachers’ Land estate, Magboro, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, where he was arrested on 27th March. He was flown to Kano on Tuesday 7th April. Recovered from him included 63 grams of promazepam and seven ampoules of promethazine injection.
The week’s haul does not end there.
In Ogun State, three suspects – Azeez Sanni, Olayinka Oke and Adekunle Adeyemi – were arrested at Sango Under bridge, Sango Ota, with 34 kilograms of skunk. Meanwhile, in Imo State, a 26-year-old woman, Ayoka Akinwale, was stopped along the Onitsha-Owerri road on Saturday 11th April with a staggering 56.2 kilograms of the same substance.
A couple in Niger State – Abdullahi Umar, 32, and his wife Adama Umar, 25 – found themselves in handcuffs after a search of their home in Takuti village, Lapai LGA, uncovered 118 kilograms of skunk stashed in their kitchen.
Further north in Borno State, NDLEA officers on patrol at Njimtilo along the Damaturu-Maiduguri road stopped a trailer laden with vehicle spare parts from Nnewi, Anambra State. Hidden among the legitimate cargo were 42,290 tablets of Rohypnol, 82,700 millilitres of codeine syrup, and 10,000 millilitres of Pentazocine injection. The consignment’s owner, Eleje Ibeabuchi, 43, was arrested in a follow-up operation.
In Lagos, acting on credible intelligence, operatives intercepted a Chisco Transport luxury bus – registration AGU 442 XB – travelling to Port Harcourt along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway on Tuesday 7th April. A search revealed 15 kilograms of Scottish Loud, a powerful strain of cannabis, concealed inside one of the vehicle’s compartments. Two suspects, Kingsley Nsofor and Opara Ifeanyi, were promptly arrested.
A separate interdiction in the Mushin area of Lagos on Saturday 11th April saw officers stop a truck carrying assorted goods bound for Onitsha. Hidden within were 26,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup. Two suspects, Adesunloye Dada and Chibuzor Chime, were taken into custody.
The capital was not spared. A raid on the notorious Tora Bora drug den in Abuja on Saturday 11th April netted eight suspects: Abubakar Muhammad, Ali Isiaka, Obed Moses, Ibrahim Musa, Attahiru Audu, Kabiru Buhari, Oloruntoba Samuel, and Ellah Gyandi. A combined 11.516 kilograms of skunk was seized from the group.
Perhaps the most significant seizure of the week occurred in Edo State.
Acting on actionable intelligence, NDLEA operatives intercepted two long trucks – registration numbers LUY 172 XC and LUY 281 XC – along Warrake road in Auchi on Saturday 11th April. The vehicles were carrying bags of processed skunk cunningly concealed among cartons of beer. The first truck contained 3,900 kilograms of skunk; the second held 3,345 kilograms – a combined total of 7,245 kilograms.
Five suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure: Ibrahim Abu, 29; Abu Abdullazeez, 28; Jibril Jaminu, 35; Andrew Moses, 22; and Ganiyu Abu, 21. The consignments had been loaded at Sabongida-Ora in Owan West LGA and were heading for Abuja when they were intercepted.
Commending his officers across the MAKIA, Abia, Lagos, Imo, Borno, Ogun, Niger, Edo, and FCT Commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), praised what he described as a fair balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.
He singled out the agency’s ongoing War Against Drug Abuse advocacy work, which has seen sensitisation lectures delivered to students at Child Best School in Ikorodu, Government Science Secondary School in Ajaokuta, Community Girls Secondary School in Danja, Government Girls Secondary School in Dabo, as well as drivers and passengers at Oban-Aningheje motor park in Calabar, and members of the Anglican Youths Fellowship Diocese in Okinin, Osun State.
All suspects are expected to face charges in court as investigations continue into the wider networks behind these operations.
