The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, 36, in Asaba, Delta State, three years after he was declared wanted for trafficking offences.
Ibigide, who had been on the run since March 2022 after being linked to a 24.1kg skunk seizure, was captured on Sunday, August 10, 2025, alongside his aide, Clement Osuya, 27, while attempting to move 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138kg in a distribution bus.
In a series of coordinated raids nationwide, NDLEA operatives recorded major breakthroughs. In Enugu State, a joint operation with the military and local vigilantes led to the destruction of 37,500kg of cannabis cultivated on 15 hectares of farmland in Enugu Ezike. Six suspects were arrested, and 74.5kg of skunk recovered for prosecution. Additional seizures in Enugu included 20,700 pills of tramadol and cocodamol, and 27.6kg of skunk from two suspects at New Market.
In Lagos, operatives arrested a 52-year-old woman, Muyibat Mumuni, and her son, Faruk, 25, in Mushin for storing and distributing 149kg of “Ghana Loud.” Another suspect, Emmanuel Samuel, was caught with 8.5kg of Canadian Loud in Ajah, Lekki.
Similarly, officers in Gombe arrested Sani Mohammed, 32, with 128,000 tramadol capsules, while a massive haul of 337,800 capsules was intercepted along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State from a commercial bus driver, Sulaiman Oyedokun, 47.
In Taraba, 11,250kg of skunk was destroyed on 4.5 hectares in Sardauna LGA, while 29,840 tramadol capsules were seized from a suspect at Wukari checkpoint. Kaduna Command also arrested four suspects in separate operations, recovering over 22,000 pills of tramadol and rohypnol as well as 111.1kg of skunk.
The biggest seizure of the week occurred at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, where NDLEA, working with Customs and other agencies, intercepted 875,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at N6.1bn and 3.5 million pills of Trodol Benzhexol worth N1.7bn from five containers under watch.
Other arrests and seizures were recorded in Edo, Kano, and along the Badagry-Lagos highway, where 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection were intercepted.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy in schools, communities, worship centres, and visits to traditional rulers and leaders, including former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the Shehu of Borno.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers for their efforts, urging them to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drugs through a balanced approach that combines enforcement with advocacy.