Two Grandfathers Busted For Allegedly Selling Drugs To Secondary School Students In Abia

The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, are currently in NDLEA custody following separate operations that uncovered their alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities targeting young people.

Investigators disclosed that Obiora was apprehended on June 19 after intelligence reports linked him to the sale of illicit substances from his patent medicine store located on Club Road in Umuahia. A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

In a related development, Orji, a pensioner, was reportedly caught by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia while allegedly supplying drugs to two teenage students. The school authorities handed the suspect and the students over to the police before the matter was transferred to the NDLEA for further investigation.

One of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) pupil, allegedly told investigators that Orji had been supplying him with drugs for personal use and resale to fellow students.

Beyond Abia State, the NDLEA also recorded a series of major drug seizures across the country. In Lagos, operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram shipment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous psychoactive substance, which had arrived from China concealed inside a carton at a courier facility. Another operation led to the discovery of 300 grams of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a separate logistics company.

The agency further raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos. During the operation, officers recovered bottles of codeine syrup and quantities of skunk. A follow-up raid at a shop linked to his wife on Lagos Island resulted in the seizure of additional codeine, drug paraphernalia, and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilograms. Authorities said an attempt by the suspect’s wife to destroy evidence was successfully thwarted.

In Kogi State, NDLEA officers intercepted a 33-year-old suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene-Lokoja highway while allegedly transporting 1.03 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in custard containers from Lagos to Abuja.

The agency also confirmed the arrest of two suspects, James Tony Chukwudi and James Kehinde, who had been wanted in connection with the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk in Ekiti State earlier this year. The pair were reportedly apprehended after months in hiding.

Meanwhile, in Oyo State, a 75-year-old suspect, Tudun Olubiyi, alongside two others, was arrested after officers raided a property in Oyo town and recovered 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.

Further operations in Edo State led to the destruction of large cannabis plantations and the seizure of significant quantities of processed drugs. A suspect identified as Patrick Imoukhede was arrested during one of the raids, while another suspect, Augustine Anyamone, was apprehended with 395 kilograms of skunk in a separate operation.

The NDLEA also continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and places of worship across several states, including Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Anambra and Rivers.

Commending officers involved in the various operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the agency’s efforts in reducing drug supply while intensifying public awareness campaigns, urging personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.