The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has directed the release on bail and counselling of a 101-year-old grandmother, Esther Ogunmabo, who was arrested for allegedly dealing in cannabis in Ilisan, Ogun State, citing her advanced age.
Ogunmabo was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets.
According to a statement issued by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the 101-year-old told operatives that she ventured into the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire.
Babafemi said Ogunmabo also disclosed that one of her daughters, who resides in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, which she subsequently sold in small quantities to local customers.
He said Marwa directed that the elderly suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age.
“Considering her age, the Chairman of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has directed that she be granted bail and placed on counselling,” Babafemi quoted him as saying.
He added that the agency had also arrested the suspect’s daughter, who was allegedly involved in supplying the cannabis to her.
The development was part of a series of operations conducted by NDLEA commands and formations across the country, which resulted in the seizure of large consignments of illicit drugs and the arrest of several suspects.
In Lagos, the agency intercepted two containers of cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, with a combined street value of more than N4.4 billion.
Babafemi said the seizures represented the agency’s first interception of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime route, highlighting what it described as an emerging trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates.
At the Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was found to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container placed on the agency’s watch list yielded 400kg of Thai Loud concealed among pallets of A4 paper.
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas allegedly conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Three suspects were arrested, with 42.622kg of narcotics recovered, including skunk and 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu.
In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules concealed inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, identified as 28-year-old Sunday Eze.
The agency also recorded seizures and arrests in Ondo, Kwara, Oyo, Kano, Lagos and Abia states.
In Ondo, NDLEA operatives destroyed 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of cannabis farm in Ijare Forest, Ifedore Local Government Area. Another operation in Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North Local Government Area, resulted in the recovery of 210kg of skunk.
In Kwara, 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis were recovered from a Toyota Starlet car intercepted along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway, while a 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested.
In Oyo State, a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, was arrested in the Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan with 4.68kg of assorted illicit substances, including Scottish Loud, tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam and flunitrazepam.
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives in Kano also recovered 73.3kg of skunk from a suspect, while three members of a family were arrested near the Seme border in Lagos with 48kg of the same substance.
In Abia State, a raid on the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno in Umuobia Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area, led to the recovery of 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of rohypnol.
Babafemi said Marwa commended officers and men of the affected commands for the successful operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
