NDLEA Arrest Doctor, 93-year-old Man Linked To Cocaine, Skunk Trafficking

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 69-year-old medical doctor and a 93-year-old great-grandfather as part of sustained, intelligence-led operations targeting drug cartels and their collaborators across the country.

In a Sunday statement signed by Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media and Advocacy, a nonagenarian identified as Pa Friday Ahukanna Chigbu was arrested at his home in Umuagbaigba, Amavo Nkwogu village, Osisioma local government area of Abia state on Tuesday, 7^th April 2026, with a search of his residence leading to the recovery of 7.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.

According to the statement, the suspect claimed he had worked as a truck pusher but later learned painting and tiling before venturing into the illicit drug business over a year ago.

The 93-year-old suspect also claimed he had been smoking skunk since 1959, before turning it into a business.

In another intelligence-led operation, a Medical Doctor identified as Dr Chudi Daniel Ofomata, a mastermind behind transnational drug smuggling, was tracked and traced to his residence at Teachers’ Land estate, Magboro, Obafemi Owode LGA, Ogun state.

Dr Ofomata was arrested following the arrest of a 41-year-old Ivorian, Gohouri Michael, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport,  Kano, with 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49kg.

Gohouri, also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael, was arrested on Monday, 16^th February 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan, Malpensa via Addis Ababa.

The statement reads, “Gohouri had arrived Lagos from Milan, Italy on 17th January, 2026 and was shuttling from Lagos to Enugu for three weeks. He later travelled to Kano, where he stayed for a week before ingesting the cocaine consignment in his hotel room. He’s expected to be paid 5,000 Euros when he delivers the drugs in Milan.

“Further investigation by NDLEA revealed that Gohouri had a shadowy figure behind the scenes, giving him instructions on how to move the cocaine consignment through the airport. The hidden figure behind Gohouri was eventually discovered to be Dr Chudi Daniel Ofomata, who was later tracked and traced to his residence at Teachers’ Land estate, Magboro, Obafemi Owode LGA, Ogun state, where he was arrested on 27th March 2026 and flown to Kano on Tuesday, 7^th April. Recovered from him at the point of his arrest include 63grams of promazepam and 7 ampoules of promethazine injection.”

Additionally, NDLEA arrest three suspects, Azeez Sanni, Olayinka Oke and Adekunle Adeyemi with 34 kilograms of skunk during a raid at Sango Under bridge, Sango Ota, Ogun state on Tuesday 7th April, while 56.2kg of same substance was recovered from a female suspect, Ayoka Akinwale, 26, along Onitsha- Owerri road, Owerri, Imo state on Saturday 11^th April.

In Niger State, “NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 9^th April arrested a couple: Abdullahi Umar, 32, and his wife Adama Umar, 25, during a search of their Takuti village, Lapai LGA home, where 118 kilograms of skunk were recovered from their kitchen.”

In Borno state, “No fewer than 42,290 tablets of Rohypnol; 82,700 mils of codeine syrup and 10,000 mils of Pentazocine injection were recovered from a trailer loaded with vehicle spare parts coming from Nnewi, Anambra state, by NDLEA officers on patrol at Njimtilo along Damaturu-Maiduguri road. The owner of the consignment, Eleje Ibeabuchi, 43, was arrested in a follow-up operation.”

In Lagos State, “NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Tuesday, 7^th April intercepted a Chisco Transport luxury bus marked AGU 442 XB going to Port Harcourt, Rivers state, along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 15 kilograms of Scottish Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, concealed in one of the compartments of the bus. Two suspects, Kingsley Nsofor and Opara Ifeanyi, were promptly arrested.”

In another interdiction operation in Lagos, “NDLEA officers on Saturday, 11^th April at Mushin area intercepted a truck conveying assorted goods going to Onitsha, Anambra state. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 26,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup and the subsequent arrest of two suspects: Adesunloye Dada and Chibuzor Chime.”

In Abuja, “A raid of the Tora Bora notorious drug joint by NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 11^th April, led to the arrest of eight suspects, namely: Abubakar Muhammad; Ali Isiaka; Obed Moses; Ibrahim Musa; Attahiru Audu; Kabiru Buhari; Oloruntoba Samuel; and Ellah Gyandi. A combined total of 11.516 kilograms of skunk was seized from the suspects.”

In Edo state, “NDLEA operatives working on actionable intelligence on Saturday, 11^th April, intercepted two long trucks marked LUY 172 XC and LUY 281 XC with bags of processed skunk concealed among cartons of beer along Warrake road, Auchi. One of the trucks was found to contain 3,900 kilograms of skunk, while the second had 3,345 kilograms, bringing the total weight to 7,245 kilograms.

“Five suspects arrested in connection with the seizure include: Ibrahim Abu, 29; Abu Abdullazeez, 28; Jibril Jaminu, 35; Andrew Moses, 22  and Ganiyu Abu, 21. The consignments were loaded at Sabongida-Ora in Owan West LGA and heading to Abuja when they were intercepted.”

The Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of the MAKIA, Abia, Lagos, Imo, Borno, Ogun, Niger, Edo, and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.