Three years after launching a manhunt, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have finally arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, in Asaba, Delta State. His arrest came as the Agency carried out multiple nationwide raids, intercepting illicit drugs worth over 7.8 billion naira and destroying large cannabis farms across several states.
The NDLEA in a statement signed by the Director , media and Advocacy, NDLEA Femi Babafemi reveals that, 36-year-old Sunday Ibigide was arrested while attempting to move 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138 kilograms with his distribution bus. He had been on the run since 2022 after being linked to earlier seizures. His aide, Clement Osuya, was also picked up during the operation.
In Enugu, operatives supported by the military and vigilantes raided three cannabis farms in Enugu Ezike, where 37,500 kilograms of skunk cultivated on 15 hectares of land were destroyed. Six suspects were arrested, with more seizures made during follow-up patrols.
Similarly, in Lagos, a mother and her son were arrested in Mushin for storing and distributing nearly 150 kilograms of Ghana Loud. More cannabis was recovered in Ajah, Lekki.
Massive seizures were also recorded in Gombe, Kogi, Kaduna, Taraba, and Kano states, where thousands of tramadol pills, cannabis parcels, and other illicit substances were intercepted.
At the Onne Ports in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives working with Customs and other agencies uncovered 875,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at over six billion naira and 3.5 million pills of opioids worth 1.7 billion naira hidden in five containers.
Chairman of the Agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended officers across the country for their efforts and urged them to sustain the war against drug abuse through arrests, seizures, and sensitization campaigns.
The NDLEA says it remains committed to a balanced approach in its fight against illicit drugs—combining enforcement with advocacy across communities, schools, and institutions nationwide.
