Pretty Mike, Ex-BBN star, 100 others held as drug party crashed in Lagos

What began as a glitzy Saturday night of music, lights, and luxury at one of Lagos’ high end clubs ended in chaos when armed operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stormed Proxy Nightclub, Victoria Island, in the early hours of Sunday, arresting over 100 revelers, including socialite Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, better known as Pretty Mike, and ex-Big Brother Naija star Tuoyo Ideh.

According to the agency, the raid, which started shortly after 3 a.m., followed weeks of intelligence gathering suggesting the venue had become a hotspot for drug parties involving banned substances such as Loud and laughing gas.

NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement released on Sunday, said operatives had discreetly entered the club around 11 p.m. on Saturday before executing the raid as part of a larger operation targeting nightlife linked drug distribution networks across Lagos.

“Cartons of illicit substances were recovered from both suspects and the club’s storage facility,” the agency stated, adding that all those arrested were undergoing profiling and screening at its Ikoyi headquarters.

In an emotional post on Instagram, Tuoyo lamented that the NDLEA officers “stormed in with guns” and ordered everyone to lie on the floor, insisting he had done nothing wrong.

“We have been here since 4 a.m.,” he wrote. “Over 150 of us were brought to NDLEA headquarters in Ikoyi. We didn’t commit any crime.”

The Lagos nightclub raid was only one in a series of coordinated operations launched by the NDLEA in October, which also led to multiple drug interceptions and arrests across 10 states.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, operatives intercepted 70 parcels of cocaine hidden in cocoa butter body cream containers bound for London, weighing 3.6 kilograms. The agency identified Lawal Mustapha Olakunle, a cargo agent, as the first suspect arrested, leading to the eventual capture of Ogunmuyide Taiwo Deborah and Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, CEO of a Lagos travel agency, after a two-week investigation.

In another operation at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, a Lesotho national, Lemena Mark, was caught attempting to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in herbal tea packs to the Philippines.

Across Kwara, Kogi, Taraba, Ondo, and Zamfara States, NDLEA teams made several other seizures, including tramadol capsules hidden inside a water heater, 450,000 pills of Exol 5, and 162 kilograms of skunk intercepted along the Okene Lokoja highway.

In Lagos, a mother of two identified as Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, believed to be a major distributor of Loud across highbrow areas, was arrested at her Lekki residence, while another suspect was caught with 275 litres of skuchies a cocktail of cannabis and opioids at Solomade Estate, Ikorodu.

In Zamfara, a 30 year old suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, was caught with an AK-47 rifle and over 1,700 rounds of ammunition, allegedly meant for bandits operating in Anka Local Government Area.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised officers for their “precision and courage,” urging continued vigilance under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.

“We must sustain the momentum across all commands and ensure that our streets, clubs, and borders remain hostile to drug traffickers,” Marwa said.