Two Elderly Men Arrested for Supplying Illicit Drugs to Secondary School Students as NDLEA Intensifies Crackdown
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly supplying illicit substances to teenage secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State, as the agency continued its nationwide offensive against drug trafficking and abuse.
According to the NDLEA, the suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended following intelligence reports linking them to the distribution of dangerous substances to young people.
Godwin Obiora was arrested on Friday, June 19, 2026, after operatives received credible information that he had been selling narcotics to students and other residents from his patent medicine shop located on Club Road in Umuahia. A search of the premises led to the recovery of 4.64 kilogrammes of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In a separate incident, Godfrey Orji, a pensioner, was apprehended by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia after he was allegedly caught supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students.
The school guards handed him and the students over to the police, who subsequently transferred the case to the NDLEA on Thursday, June 18.
One of the teenagers, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) student, reportedly told investigators that the octogenarian had been supplying him with drugs, which he consumed and also sold to fellow students.
While the two elderly suspects are expected to face prosecution, the students have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives intercepted a shipment containing 9.5 kilogrammes of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid categorised as a dangerous new psychoactive substance.
The consignment, which originated from China, was discovered at a courier company in Lagos concealed inside a carton.
In another operation, officers uncovered 300 grammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a separate logistics company in Lagos on June 16.
The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as “Lukman Ogombo”, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, on June 19. During the operation, officers recovered nine bottles of codeine syrup and 30 grammes of skunk.
Subsequent investigations led operatives to a shop belonging to his wife, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island, where two additional bottles of codeine and drug paraphernalia were discovered. Officers also found 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilogrammes inside a minibus parked in front of the shop.
According to the agency, an attempt by Saraki to flush some of the exhibits down the toilet during the raid was successfully thwarted.
In Kogi State, NDLEA officers intercepted 33-year-old Tochukwu Onah along the Okene-Lokoja highway on June 19 while travelling from Lagos to Abuja. He was allegedly found in possession of 1.03 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed inside custard containers.
Similarly, a couple identified as James Tony Chukwudi, 48, and James Kehinde, 35, who had been declared wanted in connection with the seizure of 117 kilogrammes of skunk in Ekiti State in March, were arrested on June 16 after months in hiding.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 75-year-old Tudun Olubiyi alongside Nasiru Buhari, 22, and Buba Musa, 47, during a raid on their residence in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo Town.
The operation led to the recovery of 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilogrammes of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.
In Edo State, officers arrested Patrick Imoukhede, 45, during a raid on Khagba Forest in Owan East Local Government Area. Operatives destroyed 1,744.075 kilogrammes of cannabis and recovered an additional 169 kilogrammes of processed skunk.
Another operation at Ebora Camp in Ilushi, Esan South Local Government Area, resulted in the destruction of 2,424.945 kilogrammes of cannabis plantations, while a separate raid in the area led to the arrest of Augustine Anyamone, 45, with 395 kilogrammes of skunk.
Beyond enforcement activities, the agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across schools, communities, places of worship and workplaces nationwide.
During the past week, sensitisation lectures were conducted at Orun Community Grammar School in Ekiti State, Government Girls Secondary School in Charanchi, Kano State, Federal Technical College in Doma, Nasarawa State, Tafida Community Secondary School in Zango, Katsina State, and Government Technical College, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The Rivers State Command also paid an advocacy visit to the Paramount Ruler of Rumuogba Kingdom, His Royal Highness Barrister Temple Ejekwu.
Commending officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) as well as commands in Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi and Edo states, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised their achievements in reducing drug supply while sustaining anti-drug awareness efforts.
He urged personnel across the country to remain committed and not relent in the fight against illicit drugs.
