Matilda Omonaiye/
A 101-year-old great-grandmother has been arrested for alleged cannabis dealing as operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intensified nationwide operations that also uncovered cocaine concealed inside edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, and intercepted illicit drugs valued at more than N4.4 billion.
The centenarian, identified as Esther Ogunmabo, was arrested on August 15, 2026, at Ilisan, Ogun State, after NDLEA operatives allegedly found 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, in her possession.
According to the agency, Ogunmabo admitted selling the substance in retail quantities and told investigators that she ventured into the illicit trade after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire.
She reportedly disclosed that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied her with cannabis every four days.
Following her arrest, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), directed that the 101-year-old woman be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age.
Her daughter was subsequently arrested as investigators widened their probe into the supply chain.
In another unusual interception, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom uncovered 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of fufu during an operation on August 21.
The agency said its operatives intercepted a wooden boat conveying illicit drugs towards fishing settlements in Cameroon and arrested three suspects.
A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered during the operation, including cannabis and the cocaine concealed in the cassava meal.
The discovery underscored what the agency described as increasingly sophisticated methods being adopted by traffickers to evade security checks.
In Lagos, the NDLEA recorded what it described as its first interception of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor, following the seizure of two containers loaded with cannabis indica, commonly called Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports.
At Apapa Port, operatives discovered 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud inside a container declared to be carrying dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
Another container intercepted at Lekki Port yielded 400kg of the substance.
The agency estimated the combined street value of the consignments at more than N4.4 billion.
NDLEA operatives in the Federal Capital Territory also intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 tramadol capsules inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba on August 22.
A follow-up operation subsequently led investigators to Kontagora, Niger State, where the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, was arrested.
In Ondo State, operatives destroyed an estimated 10,000kg of skunk cultivated on four hectares of farmland in Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area.
In a separate operation at Ita-Ogbolu, officers recovered another 210kg of skunk and seized a Toyota Camry.
The nationwide crackdown also produced seizures in several other states.
In Kwara, operatives recovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine and cannabis, while a 65-year-old woman was arrested in Oyo State with 4.68kg of assorted illicit drugs.
NDLEA officers seized 73.3kg of skunk in Kano, while three members of the same family were apprehended near Seme in Lagos with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia State, operatives recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, as well as quantities of tramadol and Rohypnol.
Alongside the enforcement operations, the agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
Marwa commended officers and men of the commands involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s combination of enforcement, prevention, counselling and public education in tackling drug trafficking and abuse.
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