Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two octogenarians—80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru and 82-year-old Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday—along with her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi—in a series of nationwide operations that also led to the seizure of illicit drugs valued at over N3.2 billion.

Ayuba Ashiru, a previously convicted drug dealer who served a 10-year jail term between 2014 and 2024, was rearrested on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, at Barazana Street, Dogarawa area of Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Kaduna State. NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, recovered 2.3 kilograms of skunk from him, packaged in nylons and paper for retail distribution. Ashiru confessed to having been in the illicit drug trade for 46 years.

In a related operation, NDLEA officers in Abia State raided the home of Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday at Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village on Saturday, 17 May, where various quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol, skunk, and a cash exhibit of N130,600 were recovered from her and her daughter. The octogenarian confessed that she and her daughter took over the drug business after her son, who initially operated it, died two years ago.

At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, operatives intercepted three million pills of tapentadol and carisoprodol royal 225mg concealed in a container watch-listed by the agency. The seizure, made on Wednesday, 14 May, had a street value of N2.1 billion. The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.

Similarly, at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on Tuesday, 13 May, NDLEA officers intercepted another watch-listed container from India, falsely declared as containing new car parts and accessories. Upon joint examination, a total of 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup worth over N1.1 billion in street value were discovered.

In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives arrested Abdulwahab Quadir and Abdulraheem Ismail with 199,200 pills of tramadol on Friday, 16 May, at the Gegele area of Ilorin. A follow-up raid at Favour Lodge in the state capital led to the arrest of Ibrahim Oladimeji Abdulateef, an HND 1 student of the Department of Laboratory Science Technology, Kwara State Polytechnic. He was found in possession of 650 grams of Loud—a potent strain of cannabis—already measured in 149 cups and intended for sale to fellow students.

At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted 250 grams of cocaine concealed in a female headgear destined for Australia. The interception occurred on Friday, 16 May.

In Niger State, operatives on patrol along Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday, 15 May, arrested 35-year-old Idris Kamal while transporting 316 blocks of skunk weighing 143 kilograms in a Toyota Carina car. The same day, Emmanuel Hassan, 26, was arrested with 14.3 kilograms of Loud at Chachi Junction along Kaduna road. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the actual owner of the consignment, 39-year-old Bello Aliyu, also known as Liti.

Also on Friday, 16 May, NDLEA officers in Nasarawa State arrested 60-year-old Welman Kengbo with 594.8 kilograms of skunk in the Karu area. In Lagos, a suspect, Oyenuga Toheeb, was apprehended along the Lekki-Epe expressway on Thursday, 15 May, with 67.5 kilograms of the same substance.

In Taraba State, 5,350 pills of tramadol and diazepam were recovered from 22-year-old Shafiu Ismail following his arrest on Thursday, 15 May, at Sabonlayin in Jalingo Local Government Area. On the same day in Jigawa State, NDLEA officers arrested 35-year-old Tijjani Mohammed with 198 kilograms of skunk at Malamawa in Garki Local Government Area.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Friday, 16 May, intercepted a 29-year-old suspect, Ismail Isah, with an AK-47 rifle and two magazines concealed in a sack of maize. He is to be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.

In continuation of its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign, NDLEA commands across the country carried out sensitization lectures in several schools. These include Supreme International School, Fagge, Kano; Al-Arifeen International Academy, Kaduna; Nadado Primary School, Bakori, Katsina; Ila Orangun Grammar School, Osun State; and Government Secondary School, Onne, Rivers State.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the DOGI, Apapa, PHIPC, Lagos, Abia, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Taraba, and Niger Commands for the arrests and seizures made within the week. He also applauded the efforts of officers across all commands for maintaining a balanced approach to drug supply reduction and demand reduction nationwide.