Agency also intercepts Colorado consignment from Cameroonian traveller in Kogi, destroys over 1.9 tonnes of cannabis in Edo during nationwide crackdown.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a former two-term councillor in Lagos State, Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan, after recovering illicit drugs from his residence in Ibeju-Lekki.

Olalekan, 45, who previously represented the Orimedu community in the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Council and currently works as a legislative aide, was apprehended on Monday, March 2, 2026, following credible intelligence linking him to drug trafficking.

NDLEA officers raided his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki, where they discovered 40 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in one of the rooms. During interrogation, Olalekan reportedly admitted ownership of both the drugs and the property where they were found.

In a separate operation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, NDLEA officers on Tuesday, March 3, intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, who was travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in Abuja.

A search of his luggage revealed 1,000 pills of tapentadol (250mg), cleverly hidden inside baby diapers. Okwor confessed that he was transporting the drugs to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, where he operates a provision store.

On the same day, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a highly potent synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1.55 kilograms. The drugs were concealed inside a standing fan carton belonging to a 36-year-old Cameroonian national, Mey Ali Muhamat, from Maroua in the Republic of Cameroon.

Muhamat was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon through Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri when he was arrested.

Meanwhile, in Niger State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba road on Wednesday, March 4, intercepted a commercial bus coming from Ibadan, Oyo State, carrying 500 pieces of improvised explosive device (IED) components hidden inside a white sack.

The components were allegedly meant for delivery to a recipient in Pelegi. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, 21-year-old Osama Abdullahi, in Pelegi, Mashegu Local Government Area of the state.

In Adamawa State, operatives in Yola uncovered 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine hidden in the false bottom of a truck with registration number ENU 645XX. The truck was transporting 2,000 cartons of locally produced drinks.

Other arrests were recorded across several states. In Kano, a 20-year-old suspect, Muhammed Ali, was arrested at Gadar Tamburawa on Tuesday, March 3, with 11,283 pills of tramadol.

In Ogun State, NDLEA officers raided Ogere and arrested two suspects, Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa, with 46 kilograms of skunk.

Similarly, in Delta State, two suspects — Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22 — were apprehended on Saturday, March 7, at Ogwashi-Uku with 18.63 kilograms of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.

In Edo State, operatives arrested a 48-year-old suspect, Eke London, and his accomplice, Austin Isusi, 49, at Egbisi forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area, where 1,910.25 kilograms of skunk cultivated on two farms were destroyed. Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was arrested at Ikhin town in Owan East LGA with 176.50 kilograms of the same substance.

Beyond enforcement operations, the agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign across the country. Awareness lectures were delivered to students and staff of several institutions including Government Senior College, Apata in Ibadan; Government Girls Secondary School, Katcha in Niger State; Government Girls Day Secondary School, Tsafe in Zamfara; Sango Junior Secondary School, Agege in Lagos; Government Day Secondary School, Illela in Sokoto; Archbishop Akinola International Secondary School, Afikpo in Ebonyi; and Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School, Abagana in Anambra State.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers and personnel across the Lagos, FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta and Adamawa commands for their professionalism and successful operations.

He urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of aggressive enforcement and preventive advocacy in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking nationwide.