Drug- war! ...And they died fighting drug war

By Emeka Ibemere

Nigerians are seeing more violence in society and that violence in society leads to violence against officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

So, when they left their homes for duty that black Sunday, June 15 2014, there were no inkling that they wouldn’t return to receive welcome- warm -embrace of family members who bide

them bye when they were leaving home.

But that was it when the officials of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ogun State Command put a call across to the families of Bolaji Owolodun, Rabiu Usman Kazaure and Ishaku Joshua, to break the unpalatable news of death of their breadwinners.

These officers had no idea somebody was going to kill them and it’s a terrible situation and a tragedy.

Last week’s Owode, Ogun State shootings that left three on-duty NDLEA officers dead coincided with a nationwide increase of officers killed since the inception of the anti-drug agency.

According to investigations carried out by our correspondent, over 40 NDLEA officers have died on the job and 30 of those deaths were due to gang-war and firearm-related incidents

Previously, the overall number of officer fatalities had been on a steady increase since 2005.

Last week in Owode, when Bolaji Owolodun, Rabiu Usman Kazaure and Ishaku Joshua were shot and killed in cold blood while they were on their duty to effect an arrest of a drug baron and his goons ambushed them. It wasn’t the first time in the NDLEA’s Ogun State Command history that three officers were lost at the same time.

The Agency is still coming to terms with their tragic deaths as three officers were killed in a mob attack while on official assignment in Owode, Ogun State. The incident occurred during the arrest of a notorious drug baron, Azeez Babatunde. Three officers were confirmed dead following the attack.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade who received the news of the death with shock vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

 “It is shocking that officers on legitimate assignment will be attacked and killed by people whose interest they are protecting. I have ordered investigation into the incident and the Agency will leave no stone unturned until the perpetrators are arrested and dealt with in accordance with the laws of the country,” Giade assured.

The NDLEA boss described the officers as gallant heroes of the anti-narcotics crusade. “These gallant heroes have paid the supreme price for a drug-free society. We shall immortalize them by punishing the culprits and sustain the fight against drug barons. The Agency will take good care of the family members whom they have left behind”.

The Ogun State commander, Mr. Bala Fagge said that the suspected drug goons the late officers went to arrest is in the Agency’s custody and would be charged to court.

 “We have the main suspect in our custody and he will be charged to court soon. There is one other officer that sustained injury who is currently recuperating at the hospital,” Bala added.

 Investigation revealed that the Agency has become an organisation that loses its officers at every slight provocation.
According to the investigation, the only source of worry in the Agency now was the kind of mob attack drug dealers are leashing on the officials of the agency.
An NDLEA staff told Daily Newswatch: “There are more other names that have been killed in the past years. Those ones I cannot remember now”. Official figure cannot be less than 50 in the last 20 years of the organization’s existence.

“This is astonishing compared to the Agency's total staff figure of barely 4, 000. Is this not alarming? Can this be ordinary?" the officer piqued. “Officers are dying as if there is an epidemic outbreak in the Agency. From the look of things, the Agency is becoming an open cemetery”, says the officer, fighting tears.
Earlier in the year the police orderly attached to Alhaji Giade, by name ASP Chuks, died after a brief illness. The roll call of deaths ravaging NDLEA through gang wars against the agency included the death of one Friday Malu who was found hanging on the ceiling fan of his house. In Akure, Ondo State November 5, 2010, report says gunmen suspected to be on the payroll of a suspected drug baron attacked two officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and three policemen at Ebinogbe, Owo in Ondo State.

The officers were in the area to open a warehouse loaded with Indian hemp, when the goons attacked them. In the operation, which allegedly lasted over two hours, the NDLEA team engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel.

The then State NDLEA Commander, Walter Nicholas confirmed the incident, saying the officers have been taken to the hospital.

According to him, the warehouse contained the largest concentration of Indian hemp was too much. Nicholas said his officers, acting on tip off, stormed to the community with 70 policemen and 30 NDLEA operatives to dislodge the warehouse, which according to him, was owned by a group of barons in the area. It was gathered that the operation was led by the agency’s Operation Commander, Mr. Polycarp Duguba; the Area Commander of Owo and the Divisional Police Officer.

Reports said no sooner had the officers forced the warehouse open than they were ambushed by over 100 armed hoodlums in 10 commercial buses. They opened fire on the security agencies.

“They also set ablaze the bags of Indian hemps which were packed in front of the warehouse and sprinkled the warehouse with petrol to burn my officers and the policemen. My officers and the security men made use of their professional training to escape the attack which would have been a major massacre but for the grace of God”.

Not giving a for an answer, NDLEA men regrouped and went back to the place a few hours later and recovered about 23 tonnes of Indian hemp valued at about N23m.

If the operatives in Akure survived the attack, same cannot be said of the operatives of NDLEA who storm Ado-Ekiti, in Ekiti States in 2012. It was a suicidal war at the capital city of Ekiti, when officials NDLEA, allegedly shot one person in a motor park during a clamp down on some suspected drug abusers. NDLEA officials, apparently acting on a tip-off, had stormed Ajilosun Road Motor Park to clamp down on suspected drug consumers.

It was gathered that no sooner than the NDLEA officials arrived the garage in a commando-style in search of Indian hemp consumers than they were attacked by suspected hoodlums. It was alleged that the action led to sporadic shootings by the officials of the agency.

In the ensuing melee, stray bullet was said to have hit a passenger, a development that led to commotion in the area. Unconfirmed report said the victim gave up the ghost after he was rushed to the hospital.

National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Chairman in the state, Mr. Julius Jegede, said the resistance from his men was not because they were guilty of drug abuse, but the manner in which the agency’s officials stormed the park.

Also, the same attacks on the officers have been recorded in the Northern part of the country. In Adamawa State, two officers of the agency during an operation were killed. The late officers, Superintendent of Narcotics, Allen Asor, and Narcotics Agent, Yohanna Barnya were killed during their official duty. It was learnt that the officials went on an operation following a report of cannabis sales and abuse in Loko village. The operation led by Asor was said to have turned bloody after a mob attack on the officials. Asor was 44 while Musa was 28 as of the time of their death.

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Ahmadu Giade, quickly ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of his officials but today nothing have been heard of the investigations or anybody brought to book.

Spokesman for NDLEA, Ofoyeju Mitchell, in a statement then said Giade vowed to bring the perpetrators of the act that led to the death of the NDLEA men to justice. The statement quoted Giade as saying, “The death of the officers is sad and painful. The agency will not treat the issue with kid gloves. These are officers that gave their best in protecting the country from the problem of illicit drugs. I have ordered an investigation and appropriate action shall be taken to ensure that those responsible do not go unpunished.”

On Monday, November 07, 2004 five officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, were killed in strange circumstances in Kano while trailing suspected drug barons.

Security agencies in Kano State have mounted an intense investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of five officers of the NDLEA, and three others. The names of the five officers were Sunday Aina, Hassan Umar and Yakubu Mohammed. Two other names were simply given as Maji and Sanchi.

The five persons were mobbed to death in Kabo town, Kano State while on the trail of a notorious drug baron. Daily Newswatch learnt that the five NDLEA officials had intercepted an unnamed suspect with large quantities of Indian hemp and Diazepam, otherwise known as valium.

The suspect, who was arrested at Yelwa Danza village in the Bichi area, had on interrogation disclosed the major source of his and other couriers' supplies to be one Yunusa Liti, said to be a resident of Kabo town. Liti was not new to the NDLEA. He had at least on one previous occasion been arrested in connection with hard drugs, but was let off after being detained for some time and paying a fine. The NDLEA team was alleged to have planned their raid on Liti's residence for the early hours of Friday, October 29.

 By 2 am that morning, the agents were said to have been led by two informants and the suspect who had fingered Liti arrived Kabo town and had headed for Liti's residence. Reports claimed that three of the officers who were in uniform and fully armed with automatic pistols headed for Liti's house with the handcuffed suspect, while the two other officers stayed behind in the NDLEA vehicle with the two informants.

Taken unawares, it was alleged that Liti easily succumbed and was arrested. But as the officers were taking out their victim away, he suddenly started screaming, "Barayi! Barayi! Za su kashe Ni!" meaning, “Thieves! They want to kill me”.

Then, suddenly, there was quick response to Liti's calls with a large number of people pouring into the streets armed with machetes, axes, daggers and other crude weapons.

NDLEA officials were reportedly taken by surprise and in not wasting time, the hoodlums attacked the officers when the spotted their Liti in the middle of strange persons. They attacked the agents as well as the handcuffed civilian and hacked them with cutlasses, axes and into pieces; they severed their bodies and killed them instantly.

A security analyst, Oboh Cletus said killing of the officers was an occupational hazard which was a common trend among crime fighters all over the world.

Another source queried on why the young officers risk their lives in illegal businesses, especially when the security operatives who lost their lives in the battle against crime were hardly well remunerated and fight with outdated armoury, just to see that the society is habitable. He condemned the action and called the NDLEA never allow the efforts of the slain officers to be in vain.

“I have been to Owode Yelwa. What I saw there my mouth can't say. The only job the youths are into is car smuggling. And they smoke ganja in the open. Even in restaurants where people go to eat food. And bar where people go to drink. They drink two bottles of star at a time; pour it in a big bowl. Even during occasions like child naming, they smoke ganja in the very open. Wow, Owode is one hellish town on ea