…Francis Akajiobi and Multiple Suspects Nabbed by NDLEA in Nationwide Drug Crackdown
In a significant bust, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended Francis Akajiobi, a 50-year-old businessman based in Spain, at the departure hall of terminal 2 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. Akajiobi was intercepted while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Madrid, Spain, with 1.20 kilograms of cocaine ingeniously concealed in the soles of his black sandals. During his preliminary interview, Akajiobi confessed that the consignment was handed over to him at a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and that he was to deliver it to his friend and neighbour in Spain for a fee of €5,000 upon successful delivery.
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This arrest is part of a broader, intensified crackdown by the NDLEA, which also led to the capture of Makinde Sodiq Lekan, who was linked to the seizure of 99 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 51.60 kilograms. The contraband had arrived at the SAHCO Imports shed of the Lagos airport on a Turkish Airlines flight from Canada via Istanbul, Turkey.
In another significant operation, a Special Operations Unit targeting syndicates involved in smuggling large consignments of opioids into neighboring countries successfully arrested Chukwuemaka Obodozie. Obodozie was caught in the early hours of July 21st at Cele bus stop along the Oshodi-Apapa express road in Lagos, with 100,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg hidden in two bags, shortly after arriving from Ghana via a transport company operating on the Lagos-Ghana route. This intelligence-led operation was the culmination of five months of surveillance on Obodozie.
The NDLEA’s efforts also extended to Osun State, where 17 suspects were arrested during a raid on the Owena forest in Oriade LGA. The operatives destroyed 31,250 kilograms of cannabis on 12.5 hectares of farmland and recovered 84 kilograms of processed cannabis sativa along with a single-barrel Dane gun. The arrested suspects included Peter Osuya, Zebron Ode, Dogo Reuben Matthew, and several others, ranging in age from 20 to 51 years.
Further highlighting the agency’s broad reach, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kaduna-Zaria highway intercepted a 32-year-old woman, Ubaida Aliyu, in possession of 573 rounds of 7.60 live ammunition, which she claimed she was transporting to bandits in Sokoto. Additionally, Godwin Udochukwu was arrested with 25,000 ampoules of Pentazocine injection, and Alkasim Mikailu was nabbed in Kano following the seizure of 37,880 ampoules of Diazepam injection along the Abuja-Kaduna highway.
In Lagos, two suspects, Abioye Adeniyi and Rafiu Lekan, were caught with 55 jumbo wraps of Ghana Loud along the Badagry-Seme road. On the same day, Samson Ifeayi Egwutouhi was intercepted with 20 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 10.5 kilograms along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway. Meanwhile, in Bauchi State, Suleiman Yahaya and Ibrahim Bello popularly known as Special were arrested with 315 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 204.75 kilograms along the Maiduguri bypass.
Complementing these enforcement actions, the NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities across the country, conducting enlightenment lectures in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities. These efforts included sessions for students at Government Secondary School in Gada, Sokoto State, Holy Trinity Primary School in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Holy Innocent Juniorate in Nkpor Onitsha, Anambra State, and Government Christian Secondary School in Shuwa Madagali, Adamawa State, as well as for commercial motorcycle riders in Badagry, Lagos State.
Commending the diligent efforts of the Special Operations Unit, as well as the MMIA, Osun, Bauchi, Kogi, Seme, and Kaduna Commands, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the relentless pursuit and onslaught against drug cartels nationwide. He expressed satisfaction with the balanced approach of reducing drug supply while also addressing drug demand through various educational and preventive measures, urging his officers not to relent in their efforts.