Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, in Abia State over allegations of supplying illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia.
The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were picked up in separate intelligence-led operations conducted by the agency.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested on June 19 after operatives received credible intelligence that he was allegedly distributing illegal substances to students and other users from his patent medicine shop in Umuahia.
During a search of the premises located at 4 Club Road, officers reportedly recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
Babafemi said Orji, a pensioner, was also arrested after being caught supplying drugs to students of Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia. School security personnel reportedly apprehended him and handed him over to the police before the case was transferred to the NDLEA.
In one account cited by the agency, a 15-year-old SS2 student allegedly admitted that the elderly suspect regularly supplied him with drugs, which he also distributed to other students.
The NDLEA said both suspects would be prosecuted, while the affected students have been placed under counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
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Beyond the Abia arrests, the agency also announced a series of nationwide drug operations.
In Lagos, officers intercepted 9.5kg of ADB-Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid, concealed in a carton shipped from China through a courier service. Another seizure involved 300 grams of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain hidden inside handbags at a logistics facility.
The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug suspect, Lukman Badmus, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, recovering codeine syrup and cannabis. A follow-up operation at a related shop reportedly led to additional seizures, including dozens of compressed cannabis blocks and drug paraphernalia.
In separate operations across Kogi, Oyo, and Edo States, the NDLEA said it intercepted methamphetamine, destroyed large cannabis farms, and arrested multiple suspects, including individuals previously on its wanted list.
Chairman of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations across Abia, Lagos, Oyo, Kogi, Ekiti, and Edo States, urging sustained pressure on drug trafficking networks while continuing public sensitisation campaigns on drug abuse prevention