The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has started the year with significant arrests and drug seizures across Nigeria, including the apprehension of a US-trained Nollywood filmmaker and a notorious Lagos drug kingpin.

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi on Sunday, operatives arrested Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, a filmmaker and motivational speaker, in a hotel in Lekki, Lagos, on December 27, 2024.

The statement added that Mbadiwe’s arrest followed the earlier detention of his associate, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, at a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja.

James was allegedly caught retrieving 33 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain weighing 17.30 kilogrammes after the shipment had arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) from the United States on December 24, 2024, concealed in wooden boxes.

Also in Lagos, the NDLEA arrested a queen of drugs, 61-year-old Alhaja Aishat Feyisara Ajoke Elediye, a prominent Lagos socialite known as “Iya Ruka,” at her residence in Okota. Her arrest followed the interception of a truck loaded with 1,540 kilogrammes of imported cannabis. Despite her public persona as a fabric importer, investigations revealed she led a major drug cartel in Mushin, Lagos.

Other Operations

In Kwara State, on December 29, 2024, NDLEA arrested Khadijat Abdulraheem, 24, and Ayomide Morakinyo, 20, for producing and distributing drug-laced cupcakes in Ilorin. Authorities recovered 42 drugged cupcakes during a raid on their residence.

In Rivers State, on December 31, 2024, NDLEA, in collaboration with Customs, seized 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex. On the same day in Kano State, operatives raided the Mafarki area of Dala Local Government Area (LGA), recovering 149,090 pills of tramadol and exol-5.

Passport Smuggling Syndicate

Babafemi, in the statement, also announced the re-arrest of an ex-convict, Sodade Sunday Eniola, for his involvement in passport smuggling. Eniola, who had previously paid a fine to avoid prison for drug trafficking, was implicated in a scheme involving 52 passports concealed in shipments bound for Canada and Russia. Four additional suspects linked to the syndicate were arrested.

Meanwhile, the NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes targeting traders, schools, and religious institutions nationwide.

Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), praised the operatives for their operational successes, highlighting the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.

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