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By Henry Umahi (with agency report)
These are certainly bad times for drug traffickers in Nigeria. They are gnashing their teeth in regret in the face of the relentless onslaught by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Under the watch of Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) as chairman and chief executive officer of the Agency, the harder they come, the harder they fall. The NDLEA is making the drug merchants look stupid as every of their tricks come to naught no matter how ingenious they appear.
Indeed, since Marwa assumed office in January 2021, he has led a massive transformation of the NDLEA, shifting it from a reactive agency to a proactive, high-performance and intelligence-driven organization.
The Agency recorded outstanding results in February. Last week, operatives busted the plots by two drug dealers to move consignments of cocaine and opioids hidden in their stomach and fake baby bump through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano and the Seme border in Lagos to Europe and other destinations.
While people were planning to celebrate love, thirty-five-year-old Kano-based businesswoman, Rabi Muhammad, had a sinister plan. On February 16, she was nabbed by operatives of the Agency with a protruding tummy while attempting to cross to Cotonou in Benin Republic. A full body search revealed that her pregnancy was not natural. It was fake and her baby bump was designed with a pink colour calabash used to conceal 3,200 capsules of tramadol. She tied around her stomach and was taking them to Cotonou to sell.
Same day in Kano, NDLEA officers at the screening point of the departure hall of MAKIA nabbed a 41-year-old Ivorian, Michael Gohouri (also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael) during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan, Malpensa via Addis Ababa. When he was taken for body scan, the result confirmed she had ingested illicit substances.
He was subsequently placed under observation during which he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms. Michael Gohouri had arrived Lagos from Milan on January 17, 2026 and was shuttling between Lagos and Enugu for three weeks. He later travelled to Kano where he stayed for a week before ingesting the consignment in his hotel room. The reward awaiting him was 5,000 Euros when he delivered the drugs in Milan.
The suspect, who hails from Reu duce Avenue 13 Abidjan, Cote d’ivoire claims his father, Bade Gohouri is an Ivorian while his mother is from Anunwa compound, Urunnebo village Ukwan in Enugu State. He applied for asylum in Italy in 2013 and obtained a resident permit which will expire on May 25 2026 while he has a Nigerian National Identification Number with his name written as Anunwa Onyinye Michael.
The chairman/chief executive officer of a real estate development firm, Mr. Oladapo, was also arrested by NDLEA operatives. He had been on NDLEA watchlist since 2025 following credible intelligence. The 57-year-old drug kingpin was arrested at his Safe Court Apartment residence in Ikate, Lekki Lagos on February 12, 2026 after sustained surveillance soon after his return from the United Kingdom.
When his residence was searched, four large bags containing parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 89.20kg were recovered. Also recovered from him at the point of his arrest was a 2024 model Toyota Hilux. In his statement, he claimed he got involved in the illicit drug trade after financing some consignments for his overseas associate. He said hundreds of millions of naira paid to him as profit by his associate motivated him to establish his own independent drug distribution channel.
Similarly, a suspect, Ugwuja Kingsley, was nabbed with 56kg skunk at Agbara on February 19, while Ekwe Arinze was caught with 76kg of same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on February 17.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state, 170, 900 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies. The request by NDLEA for a 100% physical examination and search of the container followed processed intelligence on the shipment.
No fewer than 7,300 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sound systems were recovered by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway Kogi state during the search of a commuter bus coming from Lagos to Kano on February 15. A follow up operation in Zuba, Abuja on February 17 led to the arrest of the two suspects linked to the consignment namely; Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29.
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In Ondo State, a suspect Bright Timothy, 28, was arrested at Iju forest on February 19 with 195kg skunk and seeds while another suspect Godwin Bernard was nabbed with 198kg of same substance when NDLEA operatives raided their enclaves in the forest.
A total of 936 kilograms of skunk were seized from a suspect, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, when he was arrested at Azare town, Katagun LGA, Bauchi on February 17, while another 85.8kg of same substance was recovered from Yahaya Adamu Gimba; Nasiru Suleman, 36; Abdul Umar, 25, and Musa Suleman, 21, in Azare.
While 37kg skunk was seized from Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, Delta State on February 17, NDLEA officers in Edo state same day raided Etiosa camp in Owan West LGA where they destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms. No less than 23kg of processed cannabis was equally recovered, with two suspects: a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Ogenewu, and a 43-year-old, Friday Iruoje, apprehended.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Muslim Community High School, Ayetoro – Oke, Kajola LGA, Oyo; Government Girls Secondary School, Gadaka, Yobe; Owerri City Secondary School, Owerri, Imo; Government Day Secondary School, Tongo, Gombe; St. Catherine’s College, Igoli, Ogoja, Cross River; Government Senior Girls Secondary School, Kofar Kudu, Kano; and Model Government College, Ikorodu, Lagos state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MAKIA, Seme, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, PHPC, Ondo, Delta and Kogi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Marwa stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.
Meanwhile, in January, Marwa declared that with an outstanding record of 77,792 arrests, including 128 barons, 14,225 convictions and over 14.8 million kilograms of illicit substances seized in the past five years, ending an era of Nigeria serving as a safe haven for criminal drug enterprises.
He said: “When I first resumed in 2021, I promised to take the fight to the doorsteps of the merchants of death. Today, the numbers speak for themselves. Through our collective resilience, we have sent a clear message that Nigeria is no longer a safe haven for illicit drug enterprise.
“It’s therefore, heartwarming to note that in the last five years, we recorded significant operational successes including the arrest of 77,792 drug offenders, including 128 identified drug barons who were central to major trafficking networks.
“We seized a total of 14,847,486.34 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, thereby, significantly disrupting both local and transnational supply chains.
“In further strengthening the criminal justice response to drug offences, the Agency successfully prosecuted and secured convictions against 14,225 offenders, reinforcing deterrence and affirming that drug crime attracts consequences.
“In line with our balanced approach, the Agency also prioritised drug demand reduction. Through structured treatment, counselling, and rehabilitation programmes, 32,442 drug users received professional intervention. Additionally, 13,735 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities were conducted across schools, motor parks, workplaces, worship centres, and communities, expanding preventive awareness and citizen engagement nationwide
“These achievements are not accidental. They are the result of discipline, leadership, intelligence-led operations, and clear performance expectations. This journey would not have been possible without the unflinching support of the President. I therefore wish to express my profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the absolute trust he has reposed in my leadership and in the entire workforce of this Agency.
“Mr. President’s decision to extend our mandate is a call to more work. We assure him, and indeed all Nigerians, that the successes of the past five years are merely a foundation.
“In this second tenure, we will escalate the war against drug abuse and trafficking to new heights of efficiency and results.
“The next phase of our operations demands even more grit and more tactical sophistication. We will not rest until every drug baron is behind bars, every trafficker is intercepted, every mule is caught, and every single gram of illicit drug is removed from our streets and communities.
“There is no room for complacency. We must remain proactive, intelligence-led, and ruthless in our pursuit of those who seek to destroy our youth and our national security.
“Let me be clear: the objective of this Agency remains the total disruption of drug trafficking and the protection of our communities. The expectation is sustained pressure until every drug baron, trafficker, courier, and every gram of illicit drugs is taken out of our streets and communities. There will be no retreat and no complacency.”
