Metro

Ex-Boko Haram Member, Traditional Ruler, 35 Others Arrested For Drug Trafficking

Published

2 years ago

March 12, 2023

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday said it arrested an ex-Boko Haram fighter, Alayi Madu, and the traditional ruler of Kajola, a border community between Ondo and Edo states, Baale Akinola Adebayo, for drug trafficking.

The PUNCH reports that as part of ongoing operations to mop up illicit drugs across the country ahead of the next round of elections, NDLEA officers in the early hours of Friday, March 10, stormed Kajola forest in Kajola community, where they destroyed three cannabis farms measuring 39.801546 hectares.

The owner of the farms who claims to be the Ba’ale of Kajola, Akinola Adebayo, 35, was arrested on the farm at 2:30 am, while two other suspects believed to be his workers Arikuyeri Abdulrahman, 23, and Habibu Ologun, 25, were also nabbed in a hut near the farms.

The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed these in a statement obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday.

In the same vein, a 26-year-old Alayi Madu, who was a Boko Haram fighter for 15 years before he surrendered to the Nigerian military in 2021, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives on Thursday, March 9 along Abuja-Kaduna express road with 10 kilograms of skunk, which he said he bought in Ibadan, Oyo State and was taking the consignment concealed in a sack to Maiduguri, Borno State.

Babafemi said, “In his statement, Madu said he is from Banki town, Borno State and joined the notorious terrorist organisation in 2006 when he was nine years old. He said he repented and surrendered to the military in 2021, after which he underwent rehabilitation and de-radicalisation processes at Umaru Shehu rehabilitation centre, Maiduguri and Malam Sidi de-radicalization centre, Gombe before he was discharged after spending six months.

“Thereafter, he travelled to Ibadan, Oyo State where he worked as commercial motorcycle rider (Okada rider) before going into drug trafficking, and was eventually arrested along Abuja-Kaduna express road.”

Meanwhile, at the Lagos airport in Ikeja, operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a consignment of 11.90 kilograms of heroin and 500grams of skunk concealed in deep freezers, which were part of a cargo that arrived from South Africa on Tuesday, March 7 onboard Ethiopian Airline via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Babafemi noted that the anti-narcotics agency’s sniffer dogs were deployed to locate where the illicit drugs were hidden in the cargo and in no time they identified the cartons packed in the deep freezers.

He added, “A total of four suspects that played active roles in the movement of the drugs and a truck driver have been arrested so far in connection with the seizure. They include Dairo Quam, Oluwaseun Ogunmene, Adeleke Abdulrasaq, Bamidele Adewale and Oluwafemi Ogunmeru.”

Also, NDLEA operatives attached to the Gate C departure hall of the MMIA on Thursday, March 9 intercepted a passenger, Aigbedion Philomena heading to Italy via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airline flight.

When her bags containing body cream, hair attachments, drinks and some food items were searched, a total of 1.20kg tramadol capsules concealed inside gift wrapping sheets and covered with old daily newspapers were discovered.

On the same day at the Idiroko land border, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a commercial Toyota Camry salon car with reg. number JJJ 756 HB (Lagos) along Ilase-Akoko road, Idiroko with 34 compressed jumbo-size wraps of imported skunk weighing 17kg and concealed in two cooking gas cylinders. Two suspects in the car, Benjamin Ajose, 48 and Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, 37, were arrested.

The spokesperson for the NDLEA further added that in Akwa Ibom state, Mrs Iniobong David, 42, was arrested with bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,112kg (1.1 tons) in her house at Ediene Abak in Abak LGA, while operatives in Kogi state on Thursday, March 9 recovered 25 cartons, containing 50,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 200kg in a Toyota Hiace bus marked LAM 652 LG, Kogi, travelling from Lagos to Abuja.

Also, in Ogun State, operatives arrested a female drug dealer, Bola Egbebi in Ota LGA, with different quantities of Cannabis Sativa, Methamphetamine, Tramadol 225, Skuchies, Molly and Codeine cough syrup, while in Gombe state, another female drug dealer, Fatima Hassan a.k.a Boss was arrested on Saturday, March 11 in her house at New Mile 3 area of Akko LGA with three and a half blocks of skunk weighing 3.245kg.

Two other female drug dealers, Folake Ladipo and Adeola Babatunde, were arrested with 49.5kg skunk on Friday, March 10 in the Mushin area of Lagos state.

Babafemi added that in Kwara, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ilorin-Jebba highway on Tuesday, March 7 arrested two suspects Ismaila Saidu and Dahiru Abdullahi with 50 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 578 kilograms, while in the Federal Capital Territory, 15 suspects were transferred by the Nigerian Army with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 384.3kg.

He noted that a 56-year-old suspect, Shinayemà Kelenku, was arrested at Tse-kelenku village, Logo LGA, Benue with 36.7kg skunk, while in Delta State, operatives intercepted a suspect, Chimeze Ndukaire, 56, conveying psychotropic substances worth over N30 million in a white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number Lagos FST 279 XS coming from Onitsha to Warri.

The vehicle was intercepted on Friday, March 10 at G.S.M junction, Asaba based on a tip-off.

Recovered from the bus include 267.3 litres of codeine (2,673 bottles); 25,110 pills of tramadol and other opioids.

Meanwhile, in Kano State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, March 11 raided the Sabon-gari area of Kano where they arrested a suspect, Chukwuebuka Christopher, and recovered from him 7,740 bottles of codeine-based syrup, measuring 774 litres, concealed inside 43 sacks of garlic.
PUNCH

Metro

NDLEA Arrests 650 Suspects, Seizes 6, 634 kg Illicit Drugs In Nasarawa

Published

7 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Nasarawa State Command, says it arrested 650 suspects for drugs related offences and seized 6,633.667 kilogrammes of illicit substances in the state between July 2024 and June 2025.

The State Commander, Mr Dachi Elisha-David, made the disclosure at the grand finale of the 2025 UN International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Thursday in Lafia.

He attributed the feat to the renewed approach to the fight against drugs, championed by the Chairman of NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Marwa.

According to the Commander, the arrested suspects comprised 632 males and 18 females, while the seized illicit drugs and psychotropic substances include Cannabis Sativa, Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Diazepam.

Others were Tramadol, Rohypnol, Pentazocine injection, and Codeine.

Elisha-David also said that the command secured the conviction of 105 drug traffickers and filed 70 charges in Court within the period under review.

In the area of drug demand reduction, he said that the command through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign reached a total of 90,943 persons across schools, motor parks , communities and workplaces in the state.

The commander, however, mentioned some of the challenges facing the NDLEA in the state to include lack of operational vehicles and other logistics, and paucity of funds to procure credible intelligence on the activities of drug dealers from confidential informants.

“Lack of willingness from the public to volunteer information on the nefarious activities of drug dealers in their midst is bad enough.

“More troubling are the youth in some of these communities who fight our operatives on raid operations that are targeted at drug dealers. This has been a concern to the command,” he said.

He said the theme of the 2025 commemoration ” The Evidence is Clear; Invest in Prevention” was instructive as it conforms with the ideal notion of UN framework to prioritise prevention, treatment and rehabilitation as against punishment and incarceration.

Drug Trafficking: NDLEA intensifies crackdown at Port Harcourt International Airport
He thanked Gov. Abdullahi Sule, his wife, traditional institution and other stakeholders in Nasarawa for their support to the agency in the fight against drugs in the state and urged for its sustenance.

He also appreciated the NDLEA boss, Marwa, and personnel of the agency for their commitment in fighting the menace of drugs in Nigeria.

Metro

JUST IN: Gospel Singer Sentenced To Death For Killing Girlfriend

Published

12 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Editor

The High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced gospel musician Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the murder of his girlfriend, Salome Adaidu.

Justice Simon Aboki on Thursday found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide after months of trial.

Ajayi was convicted under Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, which prescribes the death penalty for culpable homicide.

“The evidence before the court clearly shows that the accused intentionally caused the death of the deceased. The law is clear on this, and the punishment is death. Therefore, the accused is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” Justice Aboki ruled.

Adaidu, 24, was a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving at Nicon Insurance in Abuja.

Ajayi was caught with Adaidu’s severed head in January.

He told Channels TV that he did not regret his action. “I killed her because we don’t have each other all the time. It’s not something I planned. It happened on that day and it happened. Not that I have the plan in mind,” Ajayi said.

“She was cheating. She hides most of the things from me most times. I got to know from her phone. I saw her chats with other guys on the phone, that was why I decided.

“I don’t have any regrets because life is reciprocal, that is what I thought. If you must do something to someone, you have to be reciprocal with that person.

“You have to understand what that person is going through so that you can actually put yourself in the position that the person is going through. That is why I don’t have any regrets because we were actually compatible.”

However, the victim’s elder sister, Esther Adaidu, denied that any relationship existed between Adaidu and Ajayi.

Metro

Woman Killed, Five Others Injured In Imo Market Explosion

Published

15 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Editor

A landmine has killed a market woman, Mrs Ngozi Umeh and injured five others after it detonated inside the Eke Ubaheze Market Square, Awo-Idemili in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State.

The explosion occurred at 2:40 pm on Tuesday while trading activities were going on at the market, killing one woman, Mrs Ngozi Umeh, from Ubaheze village, after she stepped on a planted landmine though locals said it was two people who died from the explosion.

The Imo State police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, explained to The PUNCH, on Wednesday, that the landmine was planted by suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and Eastern Security Network.

Okoye who confirmed the incident to our correspondent said Mrs Umeh was rushed immediately to the hospital where she gave up the ghost adding that the five injured persons are currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

According to him, the state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, upon receipt of the incident, immediately deployed operatives from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit who swept the area for yet-to-be-identified explosives and after screening, declared the place safe.

Okoye said normal business activities had resumed under increased police surveillance.

He said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the explosion occurred when Ngozi Umeh ‘F’, a middle-aged woman from Ubaheze village, stepped on a landmine suspected to have been planted by IPOB/ESN terrorist. She was critically injured and later confirmed dead at the hospital, while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries and are receiving medical attention.

“Upon receipt of the distress call, the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Aboki Danjuma, swiftly deployed operatives of the command’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, tactical teams, and personnel from Orsu and Orlu Divisions to cordon off the area, evacuate victims, and sweep the market vicinity for any other planted IEDs. The area has since been declared safe, and normal activities have resumed under enhanced security surveillance.”

Meanwhile, the Imo police boss, Danjuma, has commiserated with the family of Mrs Umeh and prayed for the quick recovery of the injured victims.

He however restated the commitment of the Imo State Police Command to weed out all criminals threatening the peace of Orsu and Imo State as a whole.

The police spokesperson assured the state that adequate security measures had been put in place against a recurrence adding that they should go about their lawful activities.

Furthermore, he called on Imo people to strongly report any suspicious items, persons, or movements to the nearest police station or via the Command’s emergency number 08034773600.

Also, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department has been directed to commence a comprehensive investigation to unmask and apprehend the perpetrators.