Eighty-three-year-old Pa John Ofiel and 78-year-old Ogunjobi Samuel were arrested for drug trafficking by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as part of a nationwide crackdown on narcotics. The arrests were confirmed in a statement issued by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja on Sunday, 3rd May 2026. Ofiel was apprehended on Tuesday, 28th April 2026, during a raid at Samek by Powerline in Aba, Abia State, where 700 grammes of skunk, a potent cannabis strain, was found in retail packaging. He claimed to be a professional shoemaker before turning to drug dealing. On Thursday, 30th April 2026, Samuel was arrested at his residence on H22 Owode Street, Ilupeju-Ekiti, Ekiti State, with 350 grammes of skunk recovered from the scene. In Oyo State, 24-year-old Rebecca King was intercepted on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway on Wednesday, 29th April, carrying 1.925 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. A follow-up operation at Iwo Road, Ibadan, led to the arrest of 31-year-old Olaniyan Opeyemi, who attempted to receive the consignment. On Saturday, 2nd May, 49-year-old Taofik Adeyemi and his 28-year-old salesman, Mustapha Oyerinde, were arrested in Erunmu, Ibadan, after months on the run. From their possession, 3.085 kilograms of skunk and a Toyota Camry, registration EPE 299 JZ, were seized. Two of Taofik's associates, Abiodun Abiola and Aderinde Ibrahim, had been arrested earlier on 8th December 2025 and are currently facing prosecution at a Federal High Court in Ibadan. In Osun State, 65-year-old driver Oladayo Awoyemi was arrested on 30th April at the Ile-Ife toll gate while transporting a carton containing 7 kilograms of skunk and 15 grammes of methamphetamine in his vehicle, LES 114 AG. A follow-up in Ilesha led to the arrest of the consignment's owner, 40-year-old Ifedayo Babalola. On the same day in Borno State, 27-year-old Yahaya Shehu was arrested along the Damaturu-Maiduguri road with 76,440 Tramadol 225mg pills. Magaji Isa, a 30-year-old truck driver, was also arrested in Borno, with 14,000 Tramadol capsules seized. The owner, Abdulhamid Mahmud, 28, was later arrested in Biu. On 2nd May, Ojo Major Ebose, 36, and Chika Obiechefula, 32, were intercepted on the Abuja/Jos highway in Kaduna with 290 kilograms of compressed skunk in a Honda Ridgeline, KSF 65 EQ. On 1st May in Jigawa State, Ahmed Garba, 50, and Sale Mohammed, 41, were arrested on Bauchi Road, Hadejia, with 49,800 Tramadol capsules. In Lagos, 740 kilograms of skunk were recovered during a raid at Awolowo Market, Mushin, on 2nd May. In Edo State, 25-year-old Godstime Godspower was arrested on 30th April in Idogbo Community with 57 grammes of Loud, 3 grammes of Colorado, 8 grammes of Tramadol, 3 grammes of Swinol, and 5 grammes of methamphetamine. The NDLEA Chairman commended the commands in Abia, Ekiti, Edo, Borno, Kaduna, Jigawa, Oyo, Osun, and Lagos for their roles in the operations.
An 83-year-old man arrested with 700 grammes of skunk challenges the assumption that drug trafficking is a youth-dominated crime. His claim of being a former shoemaker turned dealer suggests economic desperation may be driving older Nigerians into the trade. If even grandfathers are now courting prison for selling cannabis, the war on drugs is no longer just about enforcement—it's a symptom of deeper societal collapse. The state cannot arrest its way out of a crisis this widespread.
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