The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has obtained an interim forfeiture order from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt for 17 containers holding illicit opioids valued at N33.691 billion, intercepted between April and September 2025 at Onne Port in Rivers State. The consignments, seized at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, contained 19,600,000 pills of Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, alongside 2,496,400 bottles of Codeine Syrup. Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed granted the order on 10 February 2026 in suit number FHC/PH/MISC/25/2026, directing that the containers and their contents—weighing a total of 365,657kg—be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria and placed under NDLEA custody pending final determination. The court order applies to the containers illegally imported through Onne Sea Port by unknown individuals. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) described the forfeiture as a severe blow to drug cartels, stating it disrupts their financial operations and prevents the substances from harming Nigerian youths or funding criminal activities. He emphasized that the seizure represents more than interdiction—it is a dismantling of criminal assets. Marwa credited the success to the vigilance of NDLEA officers at Onne Port, collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other port agencies, and intelligence support from international partners. He also expressed appreciation to the judiciary for its prompt ruling, highlighting the importance of judicial cooperation in combating drug trafficking.
Seventeen containers slipped through with nearly 366,000kg of opioids over five months, raising questions about port surveillance before the final seizure. If these drugs entered Nigeria gradually from April to September 2025, the delayed court action in February 2026 suggests a reactive rather than preventive system. The praise for inter-agency success cannot mask the lapse that allowed such volume to accumulate undetected for months.
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