The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted no fewer than five million six hundred and fifty three thousand (5, 653,000) pills of tramadol 250mg and exol-5 from three suspects in Kano State.
The NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this on Sunday via the agency’s verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, said the suspects –Nura Abdullahi, 38, and Tahir Muhammad Mukhtar, 42, – were arrested at Bacharawa area of Kano with 5, 404,000 pills of tramadol 250mg.
While on Sunday 14th January, Yusuf Umar, 50,, as nabbed at Gadar Tamburawa area of the state the previous day Saturday 13th January with 249,000 tablets of exol-5 by NDLEA operatives.
He said in Lagos, two suspects: Ali Abubakar and Murtala Sani were arrested at Ojodu Berger area on Tuesday 16th January with 110kg of cannabis sativa while 69kg of same substance was recovered from the hideout of a fleeing suspect in Akerele, Surulere same day. Not less than 2, 800 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup were recovered by NDLEA officers on Saturday 20th January during a raid operation at Aleyita FCT, Abuja. The suspected owner of the consignment, Jideofor Sochima is still at large.
While a total of 100, 510 pills of opioids were seized from a suspect, Ike Emmanuel, 35, on Thursday 18th January at Dan-Anacha village, Taraba state, NDLEA operatives in Abia state arrested 60-year-old Joseph Isiguzoro, as well as Emmanuel Eugene and Malachi Ndu in parts of Abia state with 34,200 pills of opioids. Isiguzoro was equally found with monetary exhibit totalling Two Million Eight Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand and Forty Five Naira (N2,885,045) only.
The War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign of the Agency continued in equal measure in schools, markets, worship places and others across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture at Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom; Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos; Edusoko University, Bida, Niger state and WADA advocacy lecture at Community Secondary School, Bichi, Kano state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of Tincan, MMIA, Abia, Taraba, Lagos, Kano and FCT Commands as well as the special units of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) urged them and their compatriots across all formations of the Agency to remain focused and resolute in pursuit of the corporate goal of winning the war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria. He further charged them to maintain the flame of collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and stakeholders in their areas of responsibility.