A 93-year-old man, Pa Friday Ahukanna Chigbu, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on April 7, 2026, at his home in Umuagbaigba, Amavo Nkwogu village, Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State. Officers recovered 7.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent cannabis strain, during a search. Chigbu, a great grandfather, claimed he had used the substance since 1959 and entered the drug trade over a year prior to his arrest. In a separate operation, an Ivorian national, Gohouri Michael, was apprehended at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan via Addis Ababa. He was found with 1.49 kilograms of cocaine concealed in 82 wraps. This led to the arrest of 69-year-old medical doctor, Dr Chudi Daniel Ofomata, in Ogun State, identified as the alleged coordinator of the international drug network. Substances including promazepam and promethazine injections were recovered from him. Across multiple states, NDLEA recorded significant seizures and arrests. In Ogun State, 34 kilograms of skunk were recovered from three suspects in Sango Ota. A 26-year-old woman was arrested in Imo State with 56.2 kilograms of skunk. In Niger State, a couple was arrested after 118 kilograms were found in their residence. A trailer carrying pharmaceutical opioids—Rohypnol, codeine syrup, and pentazocine—was intercepted in Borno State. On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 15 kilograms of "Scottish Loud" cannabis were seized from a bus bound for Port Harcourt. In Mushin, Lagos, 26,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered from a truck. Eight suspects were arrested in an Abuja drug den, where over 11 kilograms of skunk were seized. In Edo State, two trucks concealed 7,245 kilograms of skunk among beer cartons; five suspects were arrested. NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa commended operatives for their efforts in drug interdiction and demand reduction.
The arrest of a 93-year-old man in Abia State on drug charges forces a reckoning with the generational entrenchment of illicit substance use in some Nigerian communities. Pa Friday Ahukanna Chigbu's claim of personal cannabis use since 1959—before Nigeria's independence—suggests a deeply rooted culture of drug consumption that predates modern enforcement mechanisms, challenging the narrative that drug abuse is solely a youth-driven crisis. That a man of his age could allegedly transition into trafficking over a year before his arrest points to weak community surveillance and the ease with which older figures may operate under the radar.
The involvement of a medical doctor, Dr Chudi Daniel Ofomata, in an international cocaine network exposes a disturbing breach of professional ethics and regulatory oversight in the healthcare sector. His alleged role as coordinator of a transnational drug ring, coupled with the recovery of prescription psychotropic substances, raises concerns about the diversion of regulated drugs through medical channels. The widespread seizures of codeine syrup, Rohypnol, and pentazocine underscore a parallel crisis: the weaponization of pharmaceuticals in Nigeria's drug economy, often enabled by complicity within licensed institutions.
Ordinary Nigerians, particularly youth and low-income communities, bear the brunt of both drug proliferation and enforcement actions. While high-volume seizures like the 7,245 kilograms of skunk in Edo State reflect large-scale trafficking, the real impact is felt in neighborhoods where drug use fuels crime, health deterioration, and social instability. The presence of codeine-laced syrup in commercial vehicles and urban warehouses shows how deeply embedded the trade has become in everyday logistics.
This wave of arrests and seizures fits a broader pattern of expanding drug networks leveraging Nigeria's porous borders, weak regulatory enforcement, and professional complicity to sustain operations. The convergence of traditional substances like cannabis with international narcotics and diverted pharmaceuticals reveals a complex, adaptive drug economy that law enforcement continues to chase rather than dismantle.
