NDLEA arrests grandfathers for selling drugs to students in Abia
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, over allegations of supplying and selling illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State, in a development that has raised fresh concerns over the growing reach of drug abuse among young Nigerians.
The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended in separate operations carried out by NDLEA operatives.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested after intelligence reports linked him to the sale of illicit substances to students and other users through his patent medicine store in Umuahia.
Babafemi disclosed that the suspect was apprehended on June 19 during a targeted operation.
“Pa Obiora was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Friday, 19th June 2026, following credible intelligence that he was selling illicit substances to young students and others in his patent medicine store located at 4 Club Road, Umuahia, where 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam, were recovered from him during a search of his premises,” he said.
In a separate incident, 84-year-old Orji, a pensioner, was arrested after he was allegedly caught supplying illicit substances to students of Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia.
According to the agency, security guards at the school intercepted him while he was supplying drugs to two teenage students before handing him over to the police, who subsequently transferred the case to the NDLEA on June 18.
“In his case, Pa Orji, who is a pensioner and also into the illicit drug trade, was nabbed by security guards at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, for supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students in the school. The guards thereafter handed them over to the police, who in turn transferred them to NDLEA on Thursday, 18th June,” Babafemi stated.
Investigators also obtained statements from the students involved. One of the teenagers, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two student, reportedly admitted that the suspect had been supplying him with drugs regularly.
“In his statement, one of the two teenagers, a 15-year-old SS2 student, claimed the 84-year-old grandpa supplies him the drugs, which he takes and also sells to fellow students,” the statement added.
The anti-narcotics agency said both elderly suspects would face prosecution, while the affected students had been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes as part of efforts to address substance abuse among minors.
Beyond Abia State, the NDLEA announced a series of significant drug seizures and arrests across multiple states as part of its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking networks.
In Lagos, operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB-Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance. The shipment, which originated from China, was discovered concealed inside a carton at a courier company.
Another operation conducted on June 16 led to the seizure of 300 grams of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a logistics company in Lagos.
The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah.
“In another interdiction operation in Lagos, NDLEA officers on Friday, 19th June, raided the home of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus (a.k.a. Lukman Ogombo), in Ogombo area of Ajah, where nine bottles of codeine syrup and 30 grams of skunk were recovered,” Babafemi said.
He added that a follow-up raid at the suspect’s wife’s shop on Lagos Island resulted in additional recoveries.
“A swift follow-up operation at Lukman’s wife’s shop in Patey area of Lagos Island led to the recovery of additional two bottles of codeine and drug paraphernalia, while 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5kg were also recovered from a mini-bus parked in front of her shop. Attempt by the wife, Aisha Saraki, to flush some of the drug exhibits in the toilet during the raid was thwarted by operatives,” he said.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers arrested 33-year-old Tochukwu Onah along the Okene-Lokoja Highway in Kogi State after discovering 1.030 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard containers during a journey from Lagos to Abuja.
The agency also confirmed the arrest of two suspects who had been wanted in connection with a previous seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk in Ekiti State.
In Oyo State, operatives arrested three suspects, including a 75-year-old man, after raiding a residence in Oyo Town and recovering 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, officers destroyed large cannabis plantations in separate operations, eliminating over 4,100 kilograms of cannabis and arresting a suspect found with an additional 395 kilograms of skunk.
Commending officers involved in the nationwide operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the commands in Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi and Edo states for their efforts.
He noted that the agency’s strategy of reducing drug supply was being effectively balanced with its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign and urged officers nationwide not to relent in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
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