The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly supplying and selling illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State.

The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended in separate operations carried out by NDLEA operatives.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested on June 19 following intelligence reports linking him to the sale of illicit substances from his patent medicine store.

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives acted on credible information indicating that Obiora was supplying drugs to students and other users from his shop located at No. 4 Club Road, Umuahia.

A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

In a separate operation, Orji, a pensioner, was arrested for allegedly supplying illicit drugs to students of Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia.

According to the agency, school security personnel apprehended the suspect after he was caught supplying drugs to two teenage students and subsequently handed him over to the police before the case was transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.

Babafemi disclosed that one of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) student, admitted during interrogation that Orji regularly supplied him with drugs.

The student also alleged that he not only consumed the substances but sold them to other students.

The NDLEA stated that while the two elderly suspects would face prosecution, the students involved had been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes.

Meanwhile, the agency announced several other arrests and drug seizures across different parts of the country.

In Lagos State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB-Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous psychoactive substance. The shipment, which originated from China, was concealed inside a carton at a courier company.

Another operation conducted on June 16 led to the seizure of 300 grams of Loud, a potent variety of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a logistics company in Lagos.

The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug suspect, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos.

During the operation, officers recovered nine bottles of codeine syrup and 30 grams of skunk.

A follow-up raid at the suspect’s wife’s shop in the Patey area of Lagos Island yielded additional bottles of codeine, drug paraphernalia, and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilograms recovered from a minibus parked nearby.

The agency said an attempt by the suspect’s wife, Aisha Saraki, to dispose of some of the exhibits during the operation was unsuccessful.

In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 33-year-old suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene–Lokoja Highway with 1.030 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard containers while travelling from Lagos to Abuja.

The agency also confirmed the arrest of two suspects, James Tony Chukwudi, 48, and James Kehinde, 35, who had been declared wanted in connection with the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk in Ekiti State earlier this year.

In Oyo State, operatives arrested a 75-year-old suspect, Tudun Olubiyi, alongside Nasiru Buhari, 22, and Buba Musa, 47, during a raid on a residence in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo Town.

The operation resulted in the recovery of 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.

Similarly, in Edo State, NDLEA officers raided cannabis farms located in Khagba Forest, Ikao, in Owan East Local Government Area, where 1,744.075 kilograms of skunk were destroyed and 169 kilograms of processed cannabis recovered.

Another operation at Ebora Camp in Ilushi, Esan South Local Government Area, led to the destruction of 2,424.945 kilograms of cannabis and the arrest of a suspect, Augustine Anyamone, 45, with 395 kilograms of skunk.

Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised commands in Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi, and Edo states for their efforts.

Marwa noted that the agency’s successes in reducing the supply of illicit drugs were being complemented by its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaign.

He urged officers across the country to remain committed to the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse, stressing the need to sustain the momentum achieved so far.