An 84-year-old pensioner and a 75-year-old patent medicine dealer are in NDLEA custody after allegedly selling illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, raising fresh concerns about the growing exposure of teenagers to substance abuse.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the suspects, Godfrey Orji, 84, and Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, 75, were arrested in separate operations in the Abia State capital following intelligence reports linking them to the sale of illicit substances to students and other youths.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested on June 19 at his patent medicine store located on Club Road, Umuahia.
Babafemi said operatives recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam, during a search of the premises.
“Pa Obiora was arrested following credible intelligence that he was selling illicit substances to young students and others in his patent medicine store located at 4 Club Road, Umuahia, where 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam, were recovered during a search of the premises,” the statement said.
In a separate incident, Orji, a pensioner, was apprehended after he was allegedly caught supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students of Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia.
Babafemi disclosed that security personnel at the school intercepted the suspect and handed him over to the police before the case was transferred to the NDLEA.
“Pa Orji, who is a pensioner and also involved in the illicit drug trade, was nabbed by security guards at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, for supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students. The guards subsequently handed him and the students over to the police, who later transferred the matter to the NDLEA,” he stated.
One of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) pupil, reportedly told investigators that Orji regularly supplied him with drugs, some of which he consumed while selling the remainder to fellow students.
The agency said the two students involved have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation programmes, while the elderly suspects are expected to face prosecution.The arrests came amid a series of anti-narcotics operations across the country.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, which was shipped from China and concealed in a carton at a courier facility.
Operatives also recovered 300 grams of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at another logistics company in the state.
The agency further arrested a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, also known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, where narcotic substances were recovered from his residence. Additional drugs and paraphernalia were also seized from a shop linked to his wife, Aisha Saraki.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers intercepted a suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene-Lokoja Highway in Kogi State with 1.03 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in custard containers.
In Ekiti State, a couple wanted in connection with the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk earlier in the year were arrested after months on the run.
The agency also reported major seizures in Oyo and Edo states, including the recovery and destruction of large quantities of cannabis during raids on drug warehouses and forest camps.
While commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their efforts in reducing drug supply and sustaining anti-drug awareness campaigns across the country.
The agency reiterated its commitment to protecting young Nigerians from the dangers of substance abuse and dismantling networks involved in the distribution of illicit drugs.
