Crime
NDLEA Arrests 101-year-Old Woman, Seizes N4.4bn Cannabis at Lagos Ports
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested a 101-year-old woman for allegedly selling cannabis in Ogun State and intercepted cocaine hidden inside edible cassava flour, commonly known as fufu, in Akwa Ibom.
The agency also says it seized two containers carrying more than 1.4 tonnes of “Loud”, a high-potency form of cannabis, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
It put the street value of the two consignments at more than N4.4bn.
The arrests and seizures formed part of a series of operations carried out between 15 and 22 August across several states, according to the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
101-year-old suspect
NDLEA operatives arrested Esther Ogunmabo in Ilisan, Ogun State, on 15 August with 90 grammes of skunk, a form of cannabis packaged in small sachets.
The agency said she told officers that she began selling the drug after a fire destroyed her provisions shop.
According to the NDLEA, one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis every four days for Ogunmabo to sell in small quantities.
The agency said its chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), directed that the 101-year-old woman should be granted bail and receive counselling because of her age.
Her daughter was arrested, the agency added.
The arrest does not amount to a conviction. Any allegation against the suspects would still have to be tested through the criminal justice process.
Cocaine concealed in fufu
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA officers intercepted a wooden boat on 21 August which the agency said was carrying drugs towards fishing settlements in Cameroon.
Three men were arrested.
They were identified as 29-year-old Etima Effiong Eekpo, 33-year-old Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John.
The agency said it recovered 42.622kg of narcotics from the boat, including 1.120kg of skunk from Eekpo and 42.060kg from Etukudoh.
It said John had 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of fufu, alongside 435 grammes of skunk.
The NDLEA said the boat was heading towards Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon.
The alleged destination highlights the cross-border nature of some drug trafficking routes in the Gulf of Guinea, although the NDLEA’s statement does not provide evidence about the wider network behind this particular shipment.
Thailand emerges as a new route, NDLEA says
The largest seizures announced by the agency involved two containers shipped from Thailand.
The NDLEA described the interceptions as its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor.
Both containers originated from Laem Chabang Port in Thailand.
At Apapa, officers from the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies examined a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
They found 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets, according to the NDLEA.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, officers found another 400kg of Loud in a container that the agency said had been placed on its watchlist.
Four of seven pallets contained the suspected cannabis. The other three contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which the NDLEA said had been used to conceal the drugs.
The seizures follow several large cannabis interceptions at Lagos ports this year.
In May, the agency announced the seizure of 4,173.5kg of Canadian Loud worth about N10.43bn at Tin Can Island Port.
A month later, it reported another seizure of 4,959kg of Canadian Loud at Apapa Port, which it valued at N12.4bn.
The repeated discoveries raise questions about how drug traffickers are exploiting Nigeria’s maritime trade routes and whether existing cargo-screening systems can keep pace with increasingly sophisticated concealment methods.
The latest Thailand shipments also suggest that trafficking routes may be changing rather than simply increasing through established corridors. However, the NDLEA has not publicly identified the companies, importers or wider criminal networks allegedly connected to the containers. 
Tramadol, methamphetamine and cannabis recovered
The operations extended beyond Lagos.
In Abuja, the NDLEA said it intercepted 24,410 tramadol capsules in three waybill packages travelling from Enugu to Zuba.
A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of 28-year-old Sunday Eze in Kontagora, according to the agency.
In Ondo State, officers destroyed about 10,000kg of cannabis cultivated across four hectares at Ijare forest in Ifedore Local Government Area.
The agency also reported the recovery of 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry at Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North Local Government Area. It said the vehicle belonged to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who remains at large.
In Kwara State, officers stopped a Toyota Starlet on the Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway and recovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine and cannabis, the NDLEA said.
A 22-year-old man, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested.
Oyo State officers also arrested a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, with what the agency described as a mixture of Loud, tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam and flunitrazepam.
The NDLEA put the combined weight of those substances at 4.68kg.
Further arrests and seizures were reported in Kano, Abia and around the Seme border in Lagos.
At Seme, the agency said it arrested three members of one family — Nasiru Tijjani, 52, and brothers Moshood Tijjani and Salami Tijjani, both 27 — with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia, officers recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado cannabis, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of rohypnol from the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno.
What the seizures mean
The scale and geographical spread of the latest operations show the challenge facing Nigerian authorities at ports, borders, roads and local communities.
The NDLEA was established in 1989 and has responsibility for tackling the illicit production, importation, sale and trafficking of psychoactive substances. Its mandate also includes prevention, counselling and rehabilitation.
That wider mandate matters because enforcement alone cannot address drug dependence or demand.
A 2018 national drug-use survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 14.4% of Nigerians aged 15 to 64 — about 14.3 million people — had used drugs in the previous year, excluding alcohol and tobacco. Cannabis and opioids were among the most commonly used substances.
The figures are old and should not be treated as a measure of drug use in 2026. They nevertheless show why seizures need to be considered alongside prevention and treatment.
The Federal Government said in July that it wanted a balanced, evidence-based and human-centred drug-control strategy combining security measures with prevention, treatment and access to essential controlled medicines.
That approach will face a practical test in cases such as the 101-year-old woman’s.
The NDLEA has chosen counselling and bail for her because of her age, while continuing the investigation into her alleged supply chain.
The agency also said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities during the week.
What happens next?
The immediate next step will be further investigation of the suspects, seized consignments and alleged supply chains.
The NDLEA will also need to establish how the Thailand shipments entered Nigeria’s import system, who was responsible for the containers and whether other members of the alleged trafficking networks can be identified.
For the wider public, the latest seizures show that drug trafficking is not limited to isolated street-level sales.
It stretches from local communities and interstate roads to international shipping routes.
The effectiveness of the crackdown will therefore depend not only on the quantity of drugs seized, but also on whether investigations lead to prosecutions, convictions and the disruption of the networks financing and organising the trade.
The NDLEA said Marwa commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to maintain what he described as the agency’s “balanced approach” to drug control.
The coming weeks should show whether the latest seizures lead to further arrests and prosecutions, and whether authorities can identify the networks behind the shipments.
Police in Oyo State have arrested three men in Saki over allegations of same-sex sexual conduct, with investigations continuing to establish the circumstances of the case.
The Oyo State Police Command said operatives of its Monitoring Unit, Saki Operational Base, arrested the suspects following intelligence received on 29 September 2026.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued on 16 October by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka.
What the police say
The suspects were identified as Ayomide Lukeman, 22; Shuaib Aremu, 22; and Abdul-Rasheed Mufeed, 23.
According to the police, preliminary investigations indicated that the men allegedly admitted to engaging in homosexual acts. The command further alleged that two of the suspects said they had engaged in sexual activity with the third on multiple occasions.
The police said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the allegations and determine whether other individuals were connected to the case.
The statement did not provide details of any formal charges filed against the suspects or indicate whether they had been taken before a court.
Also Read: Anambra NSCDC Urges Schools to Tackle Exam Malpractice
Legal questions remain
The arrests bring attention to the legal and human rights considerations that can arise in cases involving allegations of same-sex sexual conduct in Nigeria.
The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 criminalises same-sex marriages and civil unions, as well as certain forms of public displays of same-sex relationships. Nigeria’s criminal laws also contain provisions relating to same-sex sexual activity, although the applicable provisions and penalties vary by jurisdiction.
The specific legal provisions, if any, being relied on in this case have not been identified in the police statement.
The allegations should not be treated as proof of guilt. The suspects’ legal status, any charges brought against them and the outcome of the investigation remain unclear.
Police promise further investigation
The Oyo State Police Command said it would conduct its investigation professionally, impartially and in accordance with the law.
It also urged residents to provide credible information to assist in crime prevention and investigation.
The command did not announce a timeline for completing the investigation or disclose whether further arrests were expected.
How to contact the police in Oyo State
The command provided the following emergency contacts for members of the public:
– Oyo State Call Response Centre: 615 (toll-free)
– Police Command Control Room: 08081768614
– Police Command Control Room: 07055495413
NigeriaUpdates will continue to follow developments in the case, including any formal charges, court proceedings or further statements from the police.
The interception of 400kg of suspected cannabis hidden inside a shipment of printing paper at Lekki Deep Sea Port has highlighted the role of intelligence gathering and cargo screening in detecting illicit goods moving through Nigeria’s maritime trade routes.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Lagos Free Trade Zone Command, said the 40-foot container contained 400 packages of the suspected drug concealed among 798 reams of A4 printing paper, with a stated duty-paid value of ₦2.26bn.
The container, marked PRSU1562064, was intercepted on August 19, 2026, following intelligence received by Customs officers. The exhibits were formally handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday, October 15, for further investigation.
The operation involved Customs, the NDLEA, the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and Lekki Freeport Terminal.
How intelligence led to the interception
Acting Customs Area Controller of the Lagos Free Trade Zone Command, Deputy Comptroller Olufemi Kukoyi, said officers flagged the container after receiving credible intelligence about its contents.
According to him, the shipment had arrived at Lekki Deep Sea Port and was scheduled for transfer by barge to a bonded terminal outside the Command under Customs’ transire procedure.
The Command diverted the container for further scrutiny after identifying potential security risks. A scan subsequently revealed anomalies, leading to a full physical examination involving the relevant agencies.
The examination uncovered seven pallets containing the suspected cannabis packages concealed inside the printing paper.
The use of ordinary commercial goods as concealment illustrates the screening challenge facing port authorities: suspicious shipments may require closer examination even when their declared cargo appears legitimate.
Customs: Drug trafficking will not be tolerated
Kukoyi said the seizure demonstrated the importance of intelligence-led enforcement, scanning technology and cooperation among security agencies.
“This is not merely about 400kg valued at over N2.26bn. It is a significant victory for public safety and national security,” he said.
He warned that illicit drugs contribute to addiction, organised crime, insecurity, family disintegration and the erosion of human capital.
Kukoyi also commended the officers involved in the operation and acknowledged the contributions of the NDLEA Lekki Port Command, DSS, NAFDAC and Lekki Freeport Terminal.
He credited the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, with promoting collaboration, consolidation and innovation in the Service’s enforcement activities.
“As Acting Controller, our commitment to facilitating legitimate trade must never be misconstrued as tolerance for illegality. We maintain zero tolerance for smuggling and drug trafficking,” Kukoyi said.
He added: “Our intelligence network is active and our enforcement resolve is unwavering.”
Also Read: NSCDC Links Telecom Mast Vandalism Suspect to Two Other Sites in Anambra
NDLEA warns maritime drug traffickers
Receiving the seized exhibits, Commander of Narcotics at the NDLEA Lekki Port Area Command, Jonah Achema, said the operation demonstrated the agencies’ readiness to strengthen their collaboration against drug trafficking.
Achema congratulated Kukoyi on his appointment following the retirement of Comptroller H.K.A. Abubakar.
He said the seizure, recorded shortly after Kukoyi assumed office, sent a warning to those attempting to use maritime routes to move illicit drugs.
“This sends appropriate message to unscrupulous maritime drug criminals that their operations will only end in the drag net,” Achema said.
Achema described the consignment as a significant seizure and referred to the substance as 400kg of Cannabis Indica from Thailand. Customs, however, identified the seized substance as Cannabis Sativa in its account of the operation.
The agencies’ descriptions differ, and the substance’s precise classification and origin were not independently established in the information released at the briefing.
Previous opioid seizure valued at ₦35bn
Achema also cited an earlier seizure involving two containers of pharmaceutical opioids, including Tramadol 225 and Tramaking Royal 250.
According to him, the consignments weighed 46 tonnes and had an estimated street value of ₦35bn.
He said the latest operation aligned with the NDLEA’s strategy under its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd.), to disrupt and dismantle drug-trafficking networks.
“This container was to be flown even above the Port but was stepped down for 100% examination upon credible intelligence. The Command has almost made Lekki Port impervious for illicit drug shipments,” Achema said.
He pledged continued cooperation with Customs and other security agencies to prevent illicit substances from entering the country through the port.
What the seizure means for port security
Lekki Deep Sea Port is an important part of Nigeria’s maritime trade infrastructure, making effective cargo inspection relevant to both commercial activity and national security.
The latest interception demonstrates how intelligence can trigger additional screening and lead to the discovery of concealed consignments. However, the operation alone does not establish how frequently similar shipments evade detection or how effective screening is across the port system as a whole.
For importers, shipping companies, clearing agents and terminal operators, the agencies’ message was that legitimate trade must be protected while suspicious cargo is subjected to appropriate checks.
Both Customs and the NDLEA urged port operators, shipping companies, clearing agents, importers and members of the public to provide timely, credible information that could assist enforcement operations.
They stressed that ports should remain gateways for economic growth rather than routes for criminal activity.
The NDLEA is expected to continue its investigation following the transfer of the seized exhibits. The agencies did not identify any suspect or announce an arrest in the information provided about the operation.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Anambra State says a 39-year-old man arrested over the alleged vandalism of an IHS-MTN telecommunications mast in Awka has confessed to targeting two other sites.
The suspect, identified as Anuba Lucky Chisom from Amaputa, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, was arrested at about 4am on Thursday, October 15, near Nnamdi Azikiwe University’s temporary site in Okpuno, Awka South LGA.
The corps said its operatives recovered vandalised cables and other mast components from the suspect at the scene.
How the suspect was arrested
The NSCDC Anambra State Commandant, Maku Olatunde, said the arrest followed intelligence received during a routine patrol by the command’s anti-vandalism operatives.
According to the command, the information indicated unusual movement inside an IHS-MTN mast identified by site number IHS ANA 0888A, near the palace of the traditional ruler of Okpuno.
The operatives moved to the location and apprehended the suspect, the commandant said while presenting him at the state headquarters in Awka.
NSCDC suspects wider vandalism network
The command said preliminary investigations suggested that the suspect belonged to a syndicate allegedly responsible for a rise in vandalism incidents across Anambra State.
It added that Chisom had voluntarily confessed to vandalising two other sites before his arrest, attributing his actions to unemployment.
The claims have yet to be tested in court, and the suspect’s alleged involvement in other incidents remains subject to investigation.
The command did not identify the other two sites or provide details about when the alleged offences occurred.
Also Read: Nigeria Customs Seizes Unregistered Medicines, Cannabis in Ogun
Why telecom infrastructure vandalism matters
Telecommunications masts and their supporting equipment help sustain mobile voice calls, internet access and other communication services.
Damage to such infrastructure can disrupt connectivity for residents and businesses, while repairs and equipment replacement can increase operating costs for telecom companies. The extent of any damage or service disruption at the affected Awka site was not disclosed.
The incident also highlights the importance of protecting critical infrastructure that supports communication, commerce and access to digital services.
However, the command did not provide figures on the frequency of telecom infrastructure vandalism in Anambra or the financial losses associated with recent incidents.
NSCDC warns vandals as investigation continues
Olatunde commended the operatives involved in the arrest and warned that the corps would not tolerate the destruction of critical national, state and local government assets.
He also cautioned against using unemployment as justification for criminal activity, warning alleged vandals and economic saboteurs that the command would intensify efforts to apprehend them.
The command urged residents to provide timely and credible information that could help security agencies prevent infrastructure vandalism and identify those responsible.
Olatunde has directed a thorough investigation into the case, after which the suspect is expected to be charged in court.
The NSCDC did not disclose whether other suspects had been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism network.
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