An 80-year-old ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, has been rearrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for returning to the illicit drug trade barely three years after serving a jail term for a similar offence.
Nkanta, described as a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested on December 14, 2022, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives tracked and arrested the octogenarian on Saturday, January 10, 2025, at his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, where 5.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered.
In a separate operation in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA officers intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area on Friday, January 9. Romans was travelling with full-body mannequins purportedly for his clothing business in Cameroon. A search revealed that the mannequins were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing 5.3 kilogrammes. The suspect confessed to purchasing the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, and attempting to traffic them to Cameroon.
In Oyo State, coordinated raids across Ibadan led to the arrest of several suspected drug dealers and the seizure of various illicit substances. Among them was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, also known as “Aluko the Mafia,” who was arrested at Sasa, Ibadan, with 10.696 kilogrammes of assorted cannabis strains, including Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk. Two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris—were recovered from him.
Also arrested in Ibadan were Adeola Toheeb, 27, at Adegbayi area, and Habeeb Ali, 29, at Ring Road, with assorted quantities of cannabis. A cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100 was recovered from Ali at the time of his arrest.
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, was arrested at Ihama/Airport Road, GRA, Benin City, in connection with the seizure of 118 grammes of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado. Other arrests in the state included Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, at Irrua with 17.552 kilogrammes of cannabis, and Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, at Ubiaja with 930 grammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, in Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, at Dakwa town in Tafa Local Government Area. In Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested at Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47 kilogrammes.
In Adamawa State, no fewer than 30,950 capsules of tramadol were recovered from the residence of Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, following his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola.
The NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across the country, targeting schools, worship centres and communities in states including Jigawa, Kano and Ebonyi.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the commands for their sustained efforts in drug supply reduction and demand reduction, noting that their commitment to the fight against drug abuse remains commendable.