Ex-Boko Haram fighter, popular Yoruba traditional ruler, others arrested for drug trafficking
By Sodiq Adelakun
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an ex-Boko Haram fighter, Alayi Madu; the traditional ruler of Kajola, a border community between Ondo and Edo states, Baale Akinola Adebayo and 35 others over 2.2 tons of illicit drugs seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos, and in raids across 12 states in the past week.
Spokesman of the agency Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that the 26-year-old Alayi Madu, who was a Boko Haram fighter for 15 years before he surrendered to the Nigerian military in 2021, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives on Thursday 9th March along Abuja-Kaduna express road with 10kgs of skunk, which he said he bought in Ibadan, Oyo State, and was taking to Maiduguri, Borno State, in a sack.
“In his statement, Madu said he is from Banki town, Borno State and joined the notorious terrorist organisation, in 2006 when he was nine years old. He said he repented and surrendered to the military in 2021, after which he underwent rehabilitation and de-radicalisation processes at Umaru Shehu rehabilitation centre, Maiduguri and Malam Sidi de-radicalisation centre, Gombe before he was discharged after spending six months.
“Thereafter, he travelled to Ibadan, Oyo State where he worked as commercial motorcycle rider (Okada rider) before going into drug trafficking and his eventual arrest along Abuja-Kaduna express road,” Babafemi said.
According to him, as part of ongoing operations to mop up illicit drugs across the country ahead of the next round of elections, NDLEA officers in the early hours of Friday 10th March, stormed Kajola forest in Kajola community, a border town between Edo and Ondo states where they destroyed three cannabis farms measuring 39.801546 hectares.
The owner of the farms who claims to be the Ba’ale of Kajola, Akinola Adebayo, 35, was arrested on the farm at 2:30am, while two other suspects believed to be his workers: Arikuyeri Abdulrahman, 23 and Habibu Ologun, 25, were also nabbed in a hut near the farms.
At the Lagos airport in Ikeja, operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a consignment of 11.90kgs of heroin and 500grams of skunk concealed in deep freezers, which were part of a cargo that arrived from South Africa on Tuesday 7th March onboard Ethiopian airline via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“The agency’s sniffer dogs were deployed to locate where the illicit drugs were hidden in the cargo and in no time, they identified the cartons packed in the deep freezers,” Babafemi said.
He said five suspects that played active roles in the movement of the drugs and a truck driver have been arrested so far in connection with the seizure, including Dairo Quam, Oluwaseun Ogunmene, Adeleke Abdulrasaq, Bamidele Adewale and Oluwafemi Ogunmeru.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives attached to the Gate C departure hall of the MMIA on Thursday 9th March intercepted a passenger, Aigbedion Philomena, heading to Italy via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airline flight.
When her bags containing body cream, hair attachments, drinks, and some food items were searched, a total of 1.20kg tramadol capsules concealed inside gift wrapping sheet and covered with old daily newspapers were discovered.
Also, at the Idiroko land border, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on Thursday 9th March intercepted a commercial Toyota Camry Salon Car with reg. number JJJ 756 HB (Lagos) along Ilase-Akoko road, Idiroko with 34 compressed jumbo size wraps of imported skunk weighing 17kg and concealed in two cooking gas cylinders.
Two suspects in the car, Benjamin Ajose, 48 and Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, 37, were arrested.
