The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Sunday Ibigide, 36, three years after launching a manhunt for him.

Ibigide was picked up in Asaba, Delta State, on Sunday, August 10, 2025, while attempting to move 250 blocks of skunk weighing 138kg in his distribution bus.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, recalled that Ibigide first came under the agency’s radar on March 19, 2022, when operatives linked him to the seizure of 24.137kg of skunk and 10 grams of molly.

“He went underground afterwards but operatives in Delta, acting on credible intelligence, arrested him alongside his aide, Clement Osuya, 27, while moving 250 parcels of skunk for distribution,” Babafemi said.

In a coordinated operation on August 14-15, NDLEA operatives, supported by the military and vigilantes, stormed three cannabis farms in Enugu Ezike, destroying 37,500kg of skunk cultivated on 15 hectares.

Six suspects, Ugwuanyi Chinaso (23), James Negedu (26), Sopuruchukwu Obido (22), Ebuka Onu (30), Ukwueze Sunday (42), and Oguche Friday, were arrested, while 74.5kg of skunk was recovered for prosecution.

That same week, another suspect, Emmanuel Ayogu, 53, was caught with 20,700 tramadol and cocodamol pills at Nsukka Road, Enugu. Two others were arrested at New Market with 27.6kg of skunk.

In Lagos, a 52-year-old woman, Muyibat Mumuni, and her son, Faruk, 25, were arrested in Mushin on August 13 for storing and distributing 298 blocks of Ghana Loud (149kg).

Two days later, Emmanuel Samuel was nabbed in Ajah, Lekki, with 8.5kg of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain.

In Gombe, 128,000 tramadol capsules were recovered from Sani Mohammed, 32, while in Kogi, operatives seized 337,800 capsules from a commercial driver, Sulaiman Oyedokun, 47, on the Okene-Lokoja highway.

In Taraba, NDLEA teams destroyed 11,250kg of skunk across 4.5 hectares in Tanmiya forest and arrested Saleh Babangida, 20, with 29,840 tramadol capsules.

In Kaduna, operatives arrested four suspects, recovering 22,640 tramadol/rohypnol pills and 111.1kg of skunk in separate operations.

₦6.1bn codeine, 3.5m pills intercepted at Onne Port

The biggest bust occurred at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, where 875,000 bottles of codeine syrup (valued at ₦6.1 billion) and 3.5 million pills of trodol benzhexol (₦1.7 billion) were recovered.

The seizures, made between August 13 and 14, followed the NDLEA’s intelligence watch list on five containers, which were jointly examined with Customs and other security agencies at the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT).

Other Seizures Across States

Edo State: 24 bags of skunk (432kg) recovered on Warake-Auchi Road; 130kg seized in Sobe.

Kano State: Two suspects, Tahiru Manga (25) and Ibrahim Audu (47), were arrested with 92kg of skunk.

Lagos-Badagry Highway: 4,320 ampoules of ketamine injection seized, with suspect Akeem Adegun in custody.

Marwa Commends Operatives

NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) hailed officers of PHPC, Gombe, Kogi, Lagos, Edo, Kano, Delta, Taraba, and Seme Commands for their efforts.

He urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation.

Recent advocacy visits, he noted, included engagements with former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, traditional rulers such as the Emir of Borgu, Emir of Lafia, and the Shehu of Borno, among others.

“We are investing in the future of our country by fighting this menace on all fronts,” Marwa said.