Two Grandfathers Nabbed for Allegedly Supplying Drugs to Teenagers

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly supplying illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State.

The arrests were part of a series of nationwide operations that also led to major drug seizures, the arrest of wanted traffickers, and the destruction of cannabis farms across several states.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said the suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended for allegedly distributing illicit substances to teenagers.

According to the agency, Obiora was arrested on Friday, June 19, after intelligence reports linked him to the sale of drugs from his patent medicine store located along Club Road in Umuahia. A search of the premises reportedly yielded 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

In a separate incident, Orji, a pensioner, was arrested after security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School allegedly caught him supplying drugs to two students. He was subsequently handed over to the police before the case was transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.
The agency disclosed that one of the students, a 15-year-old SS2 pupil, confessed that Orji supplied him with drugs, which he consumed and also sold to fellow students.

NDLEA said both suspects would be prosecuted, while the students involved have been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes.

Beyond Abia State, the agency recorded significant successes in anti-drug operations nationwide. In Lagos, operatives intercepted 9.5 kilograms of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a new psychoactive substance, concealed in a shipment that originated from China.

Another operation led to the recovery of 300 grams of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a logistics company.

The agency also arrested a wanted drug suspect, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, during a raid on his residence in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos. Recovered from the premises were bottles of codeine syrup and quantities of skunk.

A follow-up operation at a shop linked to his wife, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island led to the recovery of additional codeine syrup, drug paraphernalia and 22.5 kilograms of skunk concealed in a vehicle. The agency alleged that Saraki attempted to destroy evidence during the operation.

In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene-Lokoja highway with 1.03 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside custard containers while travelling from Lagos to Abuja.

The agency also arrested a couple in Ekiti State who had been on the run since March following the seizure of 117 kilograms of cannabis linked to them.

In Oyo State, operatives raided a house in Elekara, Oyo town, where they recovered 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed in 118 jumbo bags hidden inside sawdust. Three suspects were arrested during the operation.

Similarly, in Edo State, the agency destroyed cannabis plantations in forest locations and recovered processed cannabis during follow-up raids.

The NDLEA noted that its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across schools, communities, workplaces and places of worship nationwide, with sensitisation programmes held in several states.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain efforts aimed at curbing drug trafficking and abuse across the country.