By David Torough, Abuja

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on illicit drugs, intercepting consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, cocaine and other psychotropic substances across several states and arresting suspected major traffickers.

The agency’s latest operations, which covered Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu, also uncovered sophisticated methods used by traffickers to conceal drugs, including a fuel tanker fitted with a false compartment, soap-laden vehicles and cartons of clothing and hand gloves.

The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the seizures and arrests in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

In one of the biggest seizures, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State after the driver allegedly refused to stop. The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.

A search of the tanker revealed a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, hidden alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.

In Adamawa, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect whose Honda Civic allegedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.

Another suspected major supplier of methamphetamine from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis was arrested in Michika with 2kg of the substance.

The agency also reported the interception of a Ford Galaxy bus at Namtari checkpoint containing 750,027,530 pills of tramadol and other opioids concealed among soap products.

In Lagos, operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji. Two other suspects were arrested in Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.

At the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg valued at more than N1.1 billion. The drugs were concealed among thrift trousers in a 22-carton consignment from Pakistan.

The agency also seized 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at more than N173 million in street value. The consignment was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves shipped from Singapore and had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.

At Tincan Port, Lagos, another 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies was intercepted in a 40-foot container. The seizure came barely a month after the arrest of three suspects over 842.54kg of similar cannabis-infused cookies.

The crackdown also led to the arrest of a 34-year-old convicted cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding shipments of cocaine to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The suspect was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos on September 4 while allegedly posing as a herbal tea businessman.

His arrest followed the interception on July 31 of a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh through a courier company in Lagos.

According to Babafemi, the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

Investigators said he subsequently changed his name and allegedly returned to drug trafficking. A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, yielded phone chargers similar to those allegedly used in the intercepted cocaine shipment, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.

Elsewhere, three suspects were arrested in Kogi with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos.

In Taraba, a 58-year-old suspect was arrested along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari with more than 109kg of assorted controlled drugs, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin. The drugs were allegedly being transported from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

NDLEA operatives also intercepted a truck carrying bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.

In Ekiti State, two suspects were arrested after operatives discovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, recovering 117kg of already-harvested skunk.

In Enugu, a 20-year-old suspected drug peddler was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.

The agency said its operations were complemented by its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign, with officers conducting awareness activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.

NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations, particularly personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, the Lagos Command and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command.

He urged personnel to sustain the agency’s intelligence-led approach and warned traffickers that attempts to evade detection by adopting new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would not shield them from investigation and prosecution.

The Police Command in Kaduna State has recovered 10 firearms, two stolen vehicles and 332 suspected counterfeit U.S. dollar notes in clearance operations across the state.

The command disclosed this in a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Mansir Hassan.

Hassan said the recoveries were made during operations conducted between Aug.

31 and Sept. 2 in different parts of the state.

He said on Aug. 31, armed bandits sighted disturbing farmers in Kidandan area of Giwa Local Government Area engaged security personnel in a gun battle.

According to him, the police, supported by personnel of the Police Mobile Force and members of the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS), responded to the attack and forced the bandits to flee into the bush.

He said the fleeing suspects abandoned a pump-action rifle, two cartridges and a motorcycle.

Hassan also said police operatives acting on intelligence about suspected gunrunners around the Maraban Jos axis mounted roadblocks on access routes, forcing the suspects to abandon their firearms and flee.

He said nine fabricated firearms were recovered from the area, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.

Hassan said on Wednesday, police operatives arrested three suspects at Panteka, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna.

He said the suspects were intercepted while allegedly attempting to sell a black GMK Jeep valued at about N70 million for N4 million, after preparing it for dismantling and sale in parts.

According to him, preliminary investigation revealed that one of the suspects allegedly stole the vehicle from Abeokuta where he worked as a driver for a Chinese company.

The PPRO added that the vehicle had been recovered and secured, while investigation was ongoing to identify other members of the syndicate.

He further said police operatives of the Surveillance Unit, State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), recovered a white Toyota Hilux allegedly stolen from Agadez, Niger Republic.

Hassan said the vehicle was intercepted in Kaduna on Aug. 31, adding that verification of its chassis number confirmed that it corresponded with that of the vehicle reported stolen in Niger Republic.

He said one Abubakar Abdullahi, found in possession of the vehicle, was arrested and the vehicle remained in police custody for further investigation.

The PPRO said the command also arrested one Kabir Yusuf of Barnawa, Kaduna, on Aug. 31, following intelligence that he was in possession of suspected counterfeit U.S. currency.

He said a search led to the recovery of 332 pieces of suspected counterfeit 100-dollar notes and six counterfeit N1,000 notes.

According to him, preliminary investigation showed that Yusuf confessed to obtaining the counterfeit currencies from one Sahibu Ruhan of Kano State, who is currently at large.

Hassan said efforts were ongoing to arrest Ruhan and uncover the wider network allegedly involved in the circulation of counterfeit currencies.

The Commissioner of Police appreciated members of the public for providing timely and actionable information to the command.

He urged residents to continue reporting suspicious activities to the police and other security agencies to enhance security and protect lives and property across the state.(NAN)

From Francis Sadhere, Delta

A Delta State High Court sitting in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of Miss Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a 300-level Mass Communication student of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, bringing to an end a legal battle that lasted about nine years.

Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, who delivered judgment on Wednesday, convicted Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement beyond reasonable doubt.

Ogege, an indigene of Isoko, Delta State, was murdered in 2019 after she reportedly left to meet a man who had promised to help her secure accommodation within the DELSU community in Abraka. Her death sparked widespread outrage across the country after investigations alleged that parts of her body, including her eyes, breasts and heart, had been removed in what was believed to be a ritual killing linked to suspected internet fraudsters, popularly known as “Yahoo Plus” operators.

The Delta State Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, prosecuted the defendants on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery, membership of an unlawful society and murder.

A fourth defendant, Robinson Obajero Ojokojo, said to be a native doctor, died during the course of the trial.

The proceedings suffered repeated delays over the years, largely due to the frequent absence of counsel representing the first defendant. After the parties adopted their final written addresses earlier this year, Justice Azinge reserved judgment before delivering her verdict on July 29, 2026.

Reacting to the judgment, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Omamuzo Erebe, SAN, who led the prosecution alongside Okolotu Ugochukwu and Funkekeme Solomon Junior, described the verdict as a landmark victory for justice.

Erebe said the court found the two convicted defendants guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and murder. While they received varying prison terms on some of the counts, he noted that the offences relating to conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of Miss Ogege attracted the death sentence by hanging.

He expressed condolences to the family of the deceased, saying they had waited for years to see justice served.

“Although this judgment cannot bring Elozino back, we hope it provides some measure of closure to her family. They have waited about nine years, and today justice has finally been served,” he said.

Erebe added that the judgment should serve as a deterrent to those involved in ritual killings and other violent crimes, warning that no matter how long it takes, offenders would eventually be brought to justice.

Counsel to the first defendant, Benjamin Okoh, also reacted to the judgment, describing it as “justice at last.”

He said the judgment demonstrated that justice had not only been done but had been seen to have been done. Okoh also commended the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria for its role throughout the trial and expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.