NDLEA nabs 80-year-Old ex-convict, uncovers illicit drugs in full-body mannequins

…Arrests Dispatch Rider, Others, Recovers Tons of Hard Drugs in Raids Across Six States

By Kingsley Omonobi

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an 80-year-old ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, for returning to the illicit drug trade barely three years after serving a jail term for a similar offence.

According to the agency, Nkanta, a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested on December 14, 2022, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

“Not ready to let go of the old habit, Nkanta returned to the illicit drug trade and, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked the octogenarian ex-convict to his Mmanta–Abak village in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, where he was arrested with 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, in his residence,” the agency said.

In another interdiction operation in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron LGA on Friday, January 9, intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, who was travelling with full-body mannequins for his clothing business in Cameroon.

A search of the mannequins revealed that they were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing 5.3 kilograms. The suspect claimed he resides in Cameroon and was returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended. Investigations revealed that he purchased the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, and was trafficking them to Cameroon using the mannequins for concealment.

In Oyo State, raids across different locations led to the seizure of various illicit drugs and the arrest of notorious dealers, including 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, alias “Aluko the Mafia,” at Sasa, Ibadan. A total of 10.696 kilograms of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all strains of cannabis, were recovered from him. Two vehicles — a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD — were also seized during his arrest on Thursday, January 8.

At the Adegbayi area of Ibadan, NDLEA officers on Friday, January 9, arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, 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 exhibit of ₦1,307,100 was also recovered from him 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.

Also in Edo, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested in Irrua with 17.552 kilograms of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while another suspect, Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was nabbed in Ubiaja with 930 grams of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.

In Niger State, no fewer than 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) were recovered from a suspect, Nazifi Umar, 22, at Dakwa town in Tafa Local Government Area.

Similarly, in Taraba State, a suspect, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47 kilograms at Lankaviri, Yorro LGA, on Wednesday, January 7.

In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of a suspect, Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in the Bachure area of Yola South LGA. His arrest followed his apprehension at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.

Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country have continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.

These activities included sensitisation lectures at Government Day Science and Technical College, Babura, Jigawa State; Abiayubal Ansari Islamiyya School, Layin Indo Mai Tuwan Tara, Fagge LGA, Kano State; and among youths of Oshituma Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo, Ebonyi State, among others.

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 NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said their operational successes and balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts were highly commendable.

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