Drug Kingpin Arrested In Delta As NDLEA Intercepts N7.8bn Worth Of Opioids In Rivers

After a three-year manhunt, a suspected drug kingpin has been apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to a statement released on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi:

Following a three-year search, a notorious drug kingpin, 36-year-old Sunday Ibigide, has been arrested in Asaba, Delta State.

NDLEA operatives apprehended him while he was attempting to transport 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138 kilograms in his distribution bus.

Babafemi stated that Ibigide first came under investigation on March 19, 2022, in connection with the seizure of 24.137 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance and 10 grams of molly. He subsequently went into hiding.

However, acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives in Delta State successfully apprehended Ibigide and one of his aides, Clement Osuya, 27, on Sunday, August 10, 2025, while they were attempting to move the 250 parcels of skunk for distribution.

In a separate operation, Babafemi reported that at least six suspects were arrested last Thursday and Friday during raids on three cannabis farms in Enugu Ezike, Enugu State.

The raids, conducted by NDLEA operatives supported by the military and vigilantes, resulted in the destruction of 37,500 kilograms of skunk across 15 hectares of farmland.

The suspects arrested include: Ugwuanyi Chinaso, 23; James Negedu, 26; Sopuruchukwu Obido, 22; Ebuka Onu, 30; Ukwueze Sunday, 42; and Oguche Friday.

Additionally, 74.5 kilograms of the illicit substance were recovered for the prosecution of the suspects.

Babafemi added that NDLEA officers on patrol along Nsukka Road, 9th Mile Enugu, seized 20,700 pills of tramadol and cocodamol from a suspect, Emmanuel Ayogu, 53, on Saturday. The same day, two other suspects, Nsubechukwu Achidde, 24, and Osiaja Simple Frank, 41, were arrested with 27.6 kilograms of skunk at the New Market, Enugu.

In Lagos State, a 52-year-old woman, Muyibat Mumuni, and her son, Faruk Mumuni, 25, were arrested by NDLEA operatives at Ladega Street, Mushin, last Wednesday for storing and distributing 298 blocks of Ghana Loud weighing 149 kilograms.

Another suspect, Emmanuel Samuel, was apprehended last Friday in the Ajah area of Lekki, where 8.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from his apartment.

Babafemi revealed that at least 128,000 capsules of tramadol were recovered from a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 32, who was arrested by NDLEA officers at Jauro Jatau, Gombe, Gombe State, last Monday.

Furthermore, operatives on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway, Kogi State, seized a total of 337,800 capsules of the same pharmaceutical opioid from Sulaiman Oyedokun, 47, the driver of a commercial bus traveling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Kotangora, Niger State.

According to Babafemi, 11,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 4.5 hectares of farmland last Tuesday when NDLEA operatives, assisted by the Sardauna Emirate Council and the Nigeria Forest Hunters Security Service, raided the Tanmiya forest in the Sardauna local government area of Taraba State.

Additionally, 29,840 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Saleh Babangida, 20, at a checkpoint in the Wukari area of the state on Saturday.

In Kaduna State, two suspects, Mohammed Amdife, 46, and Sulaiman Mohammed, 22, were arrested in connection with the seizure of 22,640 pills of tramadol and rohypnol at the Gwargwaje checkpoint, Zaria, and the Tudun Wada area of the state.

Two other suspects, Caroline David, 51, and Abdulhadi Umar, 30, were apprehended for the seizure of 111.1 kilograms of skunk intercepted along the Zaria-Kano road.

At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, a total of 875,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup, worth over N6.1 billion on the streets, and 3.5 million pills of trodol benzhexol, valued at N1.7 billion, were recovered from five containers.

These containers were under NDLEA intelligence tracking and watch-list during a joint examination with the Customs Service and other security agencies last Wednesday and Thursday at the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) of the Onne port.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives last Wednesday recovered 24 bags of skunk weighing 432 kilograms in a bush along the Warake-Auchi road in the Etsako West local government area.

The following day, 130 kilograms of the same substance were seized at a warehouse in Sobe, Owan West local government area.

Babafemi reported that a suspect, Tahiru Manga, 25, was apprehended by NDLEA officers along the Zaria-Kano road with 16 kilograms of skunk. Another suspect, Ibrahim Audu, 47, was arrested with 76 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road in Kano State last Wednesday.

He also stated that no fewer than 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection were intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Gbaji checkpoint along the Badagry-Lagos highway last Monday, leading to the arrest of a suspect named Akeem Adegun.

Babafemi noted that commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities, among others, during the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of PHPC, Gombe, Kogi, Lagos, Edo, Kano, Delta, Taraba, and Seme commands for the arrests and seizures.

He enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the agency’s ongoing balanced approach to drug control efforts.