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No fewer than 974 offenders have been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms including 11 drug kingpins, who bagged 254 years imprisonment in the first quarter of 2026, as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) ramped up the arrest, prosecution and forfeiture of the assets of drug traffickers and their collaborators across the country.
Of the 974 drug traffickers convicted between January and March, 899 of them are male and 75 females, while a further breakdown of the conviction figure shows that 265 were secured in January, 316 in February and 393 in March.
Top on the list of the 11 drug kingpins, who were successfully prosecuted and convicted within the period include a notorious Italy-based 42-year-old businessman, Adegbite Solomon (a.k.a Obama).
Another top drug kingpin sentenced to long years in prison in the first quarter of the year is 32-year-old Ridwan Animashaun.
Two other convicts who bagged long years imprisonment are Rauf Asogba, 28, and Seun Olaniyi, 24.
Another set of two convicts got 15 years imprisonment each.
In his reaction to the conviction of the drug offenders, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the sentencing of the 11 drug kingpins to a combined 254 years in prison as a watershed moment in the country’s war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
He noted that the conviction of 974 offenders between January and March 2026 sends an unambiguous message that Nigeria is no longer a safe haven for those who trade in human lives and derive pleasure in destroying the lives of the nation’s youth.
Marwa commended the Judiciary for the accelerated hearing of the cases, noting that swift justice is the most potent deterrent.
