…NDLEA operatives intercepted a commercial bus, carrying 500 components used for improvised explosive devices concealed in a sack.
LAGOS, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a former councillor in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, Sheleru Olalekan, over his alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
The 45-year-old, who previously served two terms representing the Orimedu community and currently works as a legislative aide, was arrested on March 2, 2026, at his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki.
In a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, operatives said a search of the suspect’s home led to the recovery of 40 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from one of the rooms.
According to the statement, Olalekan admitted ownership of both the drugs and the property where they were found. He also confirmed that he had earlier served two terms as a councillor representing the Orimedu community in Ibeju-Lekki.
In a separate operation in the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA officers on March 3 intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, who was travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba, Abuja.
A search of his luggage uncovered 1,000 pills of tapentadol (250mg) hidden inside baby diapers. The suspect reportedly told investigators he was transporting the drugs to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, where he runs a provision store.
Babafemi added that on the same day, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted 1.55 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain, concealed inside a standing-fan carton belonging to a 36-year-old Cameroonian, Mey Ali Muhamat, from Maroua in Cameroon. The suspect was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon through Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri.
In another operation in Niger State on March 4, NDLEA operatives intercepted a commercial bus along the Mokwa–Jebba road coming from Ibadan in Oyo State, where 500 components used for improvised explosive devices were found concealed in a sack.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, 21-year-old Osama Abdullahi, in Pelegi, Mashegu Local Government Area.
In Adamawa State, operatives in Yola recovered 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine from the false bottom of a truck conveying 2,000 cartons of local drinks.
Similarly, officers arrested Muhammed Ali, 20, at Gadar Tamburawa in Kano State on March 3 with 11,283 pills of tramadol.
In Ogun State, operatives raiding Ogere arrested two suspects, Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa, with 46 kilograms of skunk.
In Delta State, two suspects, Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22 were arrested on March 7 in Ogwashi-Uku with 18.63 kilograms of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
NDLEA operatives also destroyed 1,910.25 kilograms of skunk on two farms in Egbisi forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of Edo State, where two suspects — Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49 — were arrested. Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was apprehended in Ikhin town, Owan East Local Government Area, with 176.50 kilograms of skunk.
The agency said its commands across the country also continued the War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaign in schools and communities, including sensitisation programmes in secondary schools in Oyo, Niger, Zamfara, Lagos, Sokoto, Ebonyi and Anambra states.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers of the Lagos, FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta and Adamawa commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control nationwide.
