The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against drug trafficking with the arrest of a notorious drug kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, and the interception of hard drugs valued at over N7.8 billion in coordinated raids across Delta, Rivers, Lagos, Taraba, Kaduna, Edo, Kano, Gombe, and Kogi States.
According to a statement released on Sunday, August 17, 2025, by the NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Ibigide, 36, was captured in Asaba, Delta State, three years after the agency launched a manhunt for him. He was arrested while attempting to transport 250 blocks of skunk (138kg) in a distribution bus. He was apprehended alongside his aide, Clement Osuya, 27.
NDLEA Raids Across States
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Lagos State: NDLEA operatives arrested Muyibat Mumuni, 52, and her son Faruk Mumuni, 25, in Mushin, where they were storing 298 blocks of Ghana Loud (149kg). In a separate operation in Ajah, Lekki, Emmanuel Samuel was caught with 8.5kg of Canadian Loud.
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Gombe State: Sani Mohammed, 32, was arrested with 128,000 capsules of tramadol in Jauro Jatau. Similarly, 337,800 capsules of tramadol were seized from a commercial bus driver, Sulaiman Oyedokun, 47, along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
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Taraba State: NDLEA, in collaboration with the Sardauna Emirate Council and Nigeria Forest Hunters Security Service, destroyed 11,250kg of skunk cultivated on 4.5 hectares of farmland in Tanmiya forest, Sardauna LGA. Additionally, 29,840 capsules of tramadol were seized from Saleh Babangida, 20, at a checkpoint in Wukari.
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Kaduna State: At checkpoints in Zaria and Tudun Wada, NDLEA arrested Mohammed Amdife, 46, and Sulaiman Mohammed, 22, with 22,640 pills of tramadol and rohypnol. In another raid, Caroline David, 51, and Abdulhadi Umar, 30, were arrested with 111.1kg of skunk along the Zaria-Kano road.
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Rivers State (Onne Port): One of the largest busts occurred at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, where NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, intercepted 875,000 bottles of codeine syrup worth over N6.1bn and 3.5 million pills of benzhexol (valued at N1.7bn) hidden in five containers at the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT).
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Edo State: On Warake-Auchi road (Etsako West LGA), operatives recovered 24 bags of skunk (432kg), while another 130kg was seized from a warehouse in Sobe, Owan West LGA.
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Kano State: Along the Zaria-Kano road, Tahiru Madu Manga, 25, was caught with 16kg of skunk, while Ibrahim Audu, 47, was arrested with 76kg.
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Lagos-Badagry Highway: At Gbaji checkpoint, NDLEA operatives arrested Akeem Adegun with 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection.
NDLEA’s Ongoing War Against Drugs
Babafemi revealed that Ibigide had been on the agency’s radar since March 2022, when he was linked to the seizure of 24.137kg of skunk and 10g of molly, but he went underground. His recent arrest marks a significant milestone in NDLEA’s crackdown on drug cartels operating across Nigeria.
The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and urged the public to provide credible intelligence to support its operations.
