The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has carried out a sweeping series of intelligence-led operations across multiple states, resulting in the seizure of more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273 kilograms of various strains of cannabis, including Colorado, Loud and Skunk. Several suspected members of drug trafficking networks were also arrested.
In a statement on Sunday 7 December 2025, Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja Femi Babafemi said a major breakthrough came on Saturday, December 6, when operatives recovered 3.87 million tramadol pills and 252.2 litres of codeine syrup from a warehouse at Oko Market in Asaba, Delta State. Earlier, on December 3, officers intercepted 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg in a vehicle at Orogwe along the Onitsha–Owerri Road, arresting the driver, 35-year-old Kelechi Nwakocha.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Jos to Mubi with 1.57 million tramadol and Exol-5 capsules concealed inside jumbo bags containing new rubber footwear. Two suspects, Kabiru Buba, 25, and Hamza Abubakar, 32, were arrested. Another suspect, Mudansir Rabiu, 27, was detained along Zaria–Kano Road with 197,000 Exol-5 pills.
Major cannabis destruction operations were conducted in forested areas of the South-West. In Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, NDLEA’s special operations unit destroyed 14,654kg of skunk and arrested two suspects, Yusuf Iliyasu, 50, and Okumu Chinedu, 26. A follow-up raid on December 2 in Asin-Ekiti, Ikole LGA, led to the destruction of 54,300kg stored in two warehouses and the recovery of 28.3kg for prosecution.
In Igoba forest, Akure North LGA of Ondo State, operatives seized 5,442kg of skunk packed in blocks and bags, arresting five suspects: Jacob Omodowo, 66; Joy Oluatobi Peace, 24; Babatunde Olamide, 40; Echi Fidelis Joseph, 57; and Ankrah Akano, 56.
Across Niger, the FCT, Lagos and Edo States, NDLEA teams made additional arrests and confiscations. These included 500kg of cannabis from a Mercedes Benz van in Niger, 22kg of Colorado at Abaji, 573,500 Exol-5 pills on the Kwali–Gwagwalada Expressway, and over 450kg of skunk in Lagos. In Edo State, two operations yielded a combined 763kg of skunk and the arrest of suspects Dada Adedara Babawibi and Stanley Obasuwa.
The NDLEA also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across Kano, Benue and Rivers States.
Commending the various commands for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the Agency was encouraged by recent operational successes and its balanced approach to reducing both drug supply and demand.
