The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, in Asaba, Delta State, while attempting to transport 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138 kilograms in his distribution van.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Ibigide had been on the run since March 19, 2022, when he was linked to the seizure of 24.137kg of cannabis and 10 grams of molly. He was finally apprehended on Saturday, August 10, 2025, alongside his aide, Clement Osuya, during a coordinated operation.
The arrest forms part of a series of nationwide raids conducted by the agency, which have led to multiple arrests and significant drug seizures in the past week.
In Enugu State, NDLEA operatives, backed by the military and local vigilantes, raided three cannabis farms in Enugu Ezike on August 14 and 15, destroying 37,500kg of skunk cultivated on 15 hectares of farmland. Six suspects were arrested during the raids: Ugwuanyi Chinaso (23), James Negedu (26), Sopuruchukwu Obido (22), Ebuka Onu (30), Ukwueze Sunday (42), and Oguche Friday. Additionally, 74.5kg of harvested skunk was seized. On August 16, officers arrested Emmanuel Ayogu (53) with 20,700 pills of tramadol and cocodamol on Nsukka Road, 9th Mile. Two other suspects were arrested at New Market with 27.6kg of skunk: Nsubechukwu Achidde (24) and Osiaja Simple Frank (41).
In Lagos, on August 13, Muyibat Mumuni (52) and her son Faruk Mumuni (25) were arrested in Mushin with 298 blocks of Ghana Loud weighing 149kg. In the Ajah area, Emmanuel Samuel was apprehended on August 15 with 8.5kg of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis.
In Gombe, Sani Mohammed (32) was arrested on August 11 with 128,000 capsules of tramadol at Jauro Jatau. In a separate operation, a major haul of 337,800 capsules of the same opioid was seized from Sulaiman Oyedokun (47), a commercial driver intercepted along the Okene-Lokoja Highway in Kogi State. He was reportedly transporting the drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Kotangora, Niger State.
In Taraba State, on August 12, NDLEA officers, supported by the Sardauna Emirate Council and Nigeria Forest Hunters Security Service, destroyed 11,250kg of skunk on 4.5 hectares of farmland in Tanmiya Forest, Sardauna LGA. On August 16, Saleh Babangida (20) was arrested at a Wukari checkpoint with 29,840 capsules of tramadol.
In Kaduna State, Mohammed Amdife (46) and Sulaiman Mohammed (22) were arrested in Zaria and Tudun Wada with 22,640 pills of tramadol and rohypnol. Caroline David (51) and Abdulhadi Umar (30) were also arrested with 111.1kg of skunk on the Zaria–Kano highway.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, a joint operation led by NDLEA uncovered 875,000 bottles of codeine syrup worth over ₦6.1 billion and 3.5 million pills of Trodol Benzhexol valued at ₦1.7 billion. The seizure was made during a joint container examination with Customs and other agencies on August 13 and 14.
In Edo State, 24 bags of skunk weighing 432kg were discovered on August 13 in a bush along Warake-Auchi Road in Etsako West LGA. Another 130kg was seized in Sobe, Owan West, the following day. In Kano State, Tahiru Madu Manga (25) was arrested along the Zaria–Kano Road with 16kg of skunk, and Ibrahim Audu (47) was caught with 76kg of the same substance at Gadar Tamburawa.
On August 11, Akeem Adegun was arrested at the Gbaji checkpoint along the Badagry-Lagos Highway with 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection, a powerful sedative and dissociative drug.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced and comprehensive approach to combating drug trafficking and abuse nationwide. “These arrests and seizures underscore the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug cartels and protecting the nation from the scourge of illicit substances,” he said.
