Traditional leader, former member of Boko Haram, and 35 other people were detained on drug-related charges.

Alayi Madu, a former Boko Haram fighter who has been rehabilitated, and Baale Akinola Adebayo, the traditional leader of Kajola, a border community between Ondo and Edo state, are two of the 37 people detained and more than 2.2 tons of illegal drugs seized over the past week.

According to a statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, they were detained by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, Lagos, and during raids in 12 States.

According to Babafemi, NDLEA officers stormed Kajola Forest in the early hours of Friday, March 10, in Kajola Community, a border town between Edo and Ondo states, where they destroyed three cannabis farms totaling 39.801546 hectares as part of ongoing operations to eradicate illicit drugs throughout the nation ahead of the upcoming elections.

He claimed that Akinola Adebayo, the 35-year-old farmer who claims to be the Ba’ale of Kajola, was detained on the farm at 2:30 in the morning, along with two other suspects who were allegedly his employees and were detained in a hut close to the farms: Arikuyeri Abdulrahman, 23, and Habibu Ologun, 25.

Alayi Madu, 26, who spent 15 years fighting for Boko Haram before turning himself in to the Nigerian military in 2021, was stopped by NDLEA agents on March 9 along the Abuja-Kaduna express road with 10 kilograms of skunk, which he claimed to have purchased in Ibadan, Oyo state, and was transporting the consignment hidden in a sack to Maiduguri, Borno state, according to the statement.

“In his statement, Madu claimed to be from Banki town in the Nigerian state of Borno and that he joined the infamous terrorist group in 2006, when he was just nine years old. He claimed that after repenting and turning himself in to the military in 2021, he underwent de-radicalization and rehabilitation procedures at the Umaru Shehu rehabilitation center in Maiduguri and the Malam Sidi de-radicalization center in Gombe before receiving a six-month discharge.

“Subsequently, he made his way to Ibadan, Oyo state, where he worked as a commercial motorcycle rider (Okada rider) before getting involved in drug trafficking and being apprehended along the Abuja-Kaduna express road.

Operatives acting on intelligence seized a shipment of heroin and skunk hidden in deep freezers at the Lagos airport in Ikeja. The shipment had arrived from South Africa on Tuesday, March 7, on an Ethiopian airline via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sniffer dogs from the agency were sent out to find any hidden contraband in the cargo, and they quickly located the deep freezer cartons.

“So far, a truck driver and a total of four suspects who actively participated in the drug’s transportation have been detained in connection with the seizure. They are Oluwaseun Ogunmene, Bamidele Adewale, Dairo Quam, Adeleke Abdulrasaq, and Oluwafemi Ogunmeru.

Meanwhile, on March 9th, NDLEA agents assigned to the MMIA’s Gate C departure area detained Aigbedion Philomena, a passenger on an Ethiopian Airlines flight that was en route to Italy via Addis Abeba. During the search of her bags, which also contained body cream, hair accessories, drinks, and some food items, 1.20 kg of tramadol capsules that had been hidden inside gift wrapping paper and covered with old daily newspapers were found.

On Thursday, March 9, NDLEA agents acting on information crossed the Idiroko land border.

a commercial Toyota Camry Salon Car with the license plate JJJ 756 HB (Lagos) was stopped along the Ilase-Akoko road in Idiroko with 34 compressed jumbo-size wraps of imported skunk hidden inside two cooking gas cylinders, each weighing 17kg. Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, 37, and Benjamin Ajose, 48, two of the suspects in the car, were detained.

“Operators 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, traveling from Lagos to Abuja. Mrs. Hope Iniobong David, 42, was arrested with bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,112kg (1.1 tons) in her home at Ediene Abak in Abak LGA.

“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 11th March in her house at New Mile 3 area of Akko LGA with three and half blocks of skunk weighing 3.245kg. On March 10th, in the Mushin neighborhood of Lagos state, two additional female drug dealers, Folake Ladipo and Adeola Babatunde, were taken into custody along with 49.5kg of skunk.

“On Tuesday, March 7, agents on patrol along the Ilorin-Jebba highway detained two suspects: Ismaila Saidu and Dahiru Abdullahi, with 50 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 578 kilograms. In contrast, the Nigerian Army transferred 15 suspects to the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 384.3 kilograms.

In Delta state, agents detained a suspect, Chimeze Ndukaire, 56, who was transporting psychotropic substances worth over N30 million in a white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number Lagos FST 279 XS traveling from Onitsha to Warri. Shinayemà Kelenku, 56, was arrested at Tse-kelenku village, Logo LGA, Benue with 36.7kg of skunk. Based on a tip, the car was stopped on Friday, March 10 at the G.S.M. junction in Asaba.

“267.3 litres of codeine (2,673 bottles), 25,110 tramadol pills, and other opioids were found on the bus.

“On March 11, NDLEA agents carried out a raid in Kano state. They detained Chukwuebuka Christopher, a suspect, and found 7,740 bottles of codeine-based syrup, totaling 774 liters, hidden inside 43 sacks of garlic.

The officers, men, and women of the MMIA, Idiroko, Edo, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Ogun, Gombe, Lagos, Kwara, FCT, Benue, Delta, and Kano Commands of the Agency were commended by Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, for their assiduity and dedication to work. He commanded them and their fellow countrymen to obey other orders and not to stop rowing.

(TNT)