NDLEA Lagos Command moves to clean Lagos of illicit drug

Emeka Ibemere

Mr Aliyu Sule, the Lagos State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has not run-off outside the track of his earlier promise, of taking illicit drugs away out of Lagos State.

Since he embarked on this risky war in the state last year, the Agency has kept his avowed determination and the result has started yielding result.

Last week, at the popular Festac town area of the state, the Command arrested two men in connection with unlawful possession of 1.6kg of first class heroin.

Sule gave the suspects names as Ogbonna Paul Obioma, 36, an auto parts dealer and Okpoagu Stanley Chijioke, 30, who claimed to be jobless. They were held at Festac town, Lagos.

Sule said that the suspects were nabbed following a tip-off volunteered by a good Nigerian.

“The Lagos command acting on intelligence report seized 18 wraps of heroin weighing 1.6kg at Festac town. Two male suspects found in possession of the drugs have been arrested and will be charged to court,” Aliyu stated.

“Okpoagu Stanley Chijioke who was recently deported from India told investigators that he wanted to use the profit from the drug sales in setting up a business”.

On interrogation, Chijioke narrated how he was ferried back home for an undisclosed offence but said he was unemployed.

 “I was recently deported from India. At present, I am jobless and need to establish myself. My friend in India told me to collect the drug from a lady at Oshodi area of Lagos”, he added.

 “I spoke with the lady on the phone and she gave me the bag. I took the drug to my friend Ogbonna Paul to help me look for buyers. It was in the process we were arrested with the drugs”.

For Ogbonna Paul Obioma, greed to make quick-money lured him into the fry of drug trafficking. According to him, his duty was to look for a buyer and as soon as the drug is disposed, he collects his portion of the money.

But it wasn’t as he thought it to be. Stating his own statement during interrogation, he said that he wanted to make quick money from the sales.

“My friend came to me with the drugs that I should assist in looking for a buyer. I decided to partner with him because he promised to reward me handsomely,” Ogbonna stated.

When the report got to the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, he said that drug traffickers have no hiding place not only in Lagos State but also in the country.

“NDLEA will spread its wide tentacles in covering the airports, seaports, land borders and across the country. Drug barons have no hiding place. We shall trace their hideouts, arrest them and make the country drug-free”.

Earlier this year, the command operating in the Mushin area of Lagos State confronted drug barons in a fierce battle that lasted for a day. It took the professional intelligence and approach to dislodge the goons.

The battle was reported to have started at about 3.45pm local time, with gun shots which rented the polluted air of Akala. The battle forced the crowded but busy streets to go to sleep as residents deserted the town, after emptying themselves inside available stores and houses.

 By the time the smoking guns fizzled away around 8pm, the long battle for supremacy over who controls the drug deal business going on in Akala has allegedly consumed more than four persons. The bone of contention was the raid by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to stop illicit drug trading that has turns Mushin, a little Columbian town in Nigeria.

 The Saturday night battle at the notorious drug haven of Akala in Mushin area of Lagos official claimed four lives when armed hoodlums attacked a combined team of National Drug Law Enforcement, NDLEA, and some soldiers during a raid. It gathered that the NDLEA operatives and some soldiers stormed Akala, a notorious hideout for criminals in Lagos and attempted to arrest some drug barons, peddlers and users, operating in the area.

But they met stiff resistance from some hoodlums who attacked them with bottles and other dangerous weapons. The report said some of the hoodlums, who were also armed with guns fired at the NDLEA officials and the soldiers, prompting retaliation.

 According to reports, four persons were reportedly gunned down in the ensuing shootout, while some NDLEA officials sustained severe injuries.

The NDLEA, in a statement, said four other hoodlums were arrested by its operatives, while cannabis weighing 541.9kg and 32 pinches of substance that tested positive for heroine were recovered.

Agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, did not disclose the number of persons killed in the encounter, but said: “A combined team of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and army officers at the weekend met with stiff resistance from hoodlums at the notorious Akala, Mushin area of Lagos during a drug raid operation.

The team of officers led by NDLEA Assistant Commander, Operations and Intelligence, Mr. Ojo Ogbechema, recovered cannabis weighing 541.9kg and 32 pinches of substance that tested positive for heroin. Four suspects were also arrested. According to the NDLEA Lagos Commander, Mr Sule Aliyu, the operation was successful in spite of the resistance from drug barons. Sule said:

“A combined team of NDLEA and army officers participated in the operation. It was a very successful raid because bags of cannabis weighing 541.9kg and 32 pinches of heroin were recovered.

 “During the operation, there was an attack on the officers by a large number of hoodlums who threw bottles and stones at the officers. The road was also barricaded but the officers shot into the air to disperse the crowd.”

 The commander added that two officers who sustained injury had been treated. Since that war, residents of Idi-Oro area of Mushin have recently reported that the gang has gradually returned to their enclave. They are calling on the state government to eradicate the trade in illicit drugs from Akala and its environs, if the State wants lasting peace in the area.

The resident on April 30, 2014 told our correspondent that the Lagos State NDLEA should raid the area again. The residents also described the activities of drug dealers and users in Akala as a major strength behind bloody street gang wars in Mushin. They added that Akala needs 24 hours surveillance on drugs. According to them, the NDLEA’s presence is daily needed in the area to avoid being used as an illicit drugs spot in the State.