- As Dealers’ Latest Strategies Pose Fresh Questions
BY AWELE OGBOGU
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has conceded that on its own, it cannot win the war against illicit drugs. This is because drug peddlers are among the worst set of criminals who, according to an adage, when caught with one hand, slips through the other.
But despite being clever by half, dealers in hard drugs will continue to devise strategies to stay ahead, a fear recently expressed by the Delta State Command of the NDLEA, unless they jettison their ragtag approach to the drug war and re-evolve quickly into a modern drug fighter through knowledge and technological know-how, equipment, collaboration and attitudinal change of officers. Many members of the public have often thought that the NDLEA is competing with the police on number of checkpoints, rather than taking the war to the backyards of the hard drug dealers.
Its specialty in public display of sheer force led to the killing of two-year-old Ivan Omhonria by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Asaba. The operatives do not exact the same bravado while at the drug farms and hideouts of drug syndicates. While poor Ivan was killed by a stray bullet fired by NDLEA operatives during a raid in the Okpanam area of Asaba on July 13, 2023, his sibling, Eromonsele, who was also hit by a bullet, in the eye, but survived, had both returned from school. For Eromosele, blindness looms as he they are yet to hear from the NDLEA.
Why should the NDLEA in the 21st century, have in its employment, officers who want to shoot their way like mad dogs, when the outside world have moved on with sting operations and use of high tech in drug fighting? Ivan’s father, Mr. Fidelis Omhonria, said that the family was going through trying times, particularly over the condition of the surviving sibling. Ivan’s funeral service had taken place at St. Mary Vienna Catholic Church, DBS Road, ASABA.
He had since been laid to rest at a burial ground and gone to his maker. “Our concern now is how to treat the other child (Ivan’s sibling). It was learnt that at first, the NDLEA team from their operational headquarters promised to fast-track the visa to the United States of America (USA) for further treatment of Ivan’s sibling). “Only God can console us at this time. Let God take control and care of our other son who has issues in his eyes. He’s now a year and a few months old.” He has called on Nigerians to keep praying for the family, especially during this trying time so that the boy with the eye injury will get better.”
Its operations need to be intensified, intelligence networks expanded, as well as collaboration with local and international institutions to dismantle drug cartels, seize illicit drugs and bring the perpetrators to justice without harming innocent citizens, much less, two kids who had just returned from school. Although the NDLEA claims that “in the past 29 months, 31,675 drug offenders have been brought to book, among them 35 barons, while so far, 5,147 earned jail terms, with over 6, 252 tons of illicit drugs seized, what about those who have prospered through the drug business over the years? Is there any other agency apart from the NDLEA who are supposed to go after them? Indeed, there is a cycle of arrests and release of suspected drug peddlers, pointing to possible wheeling-dealing within the dreary-looking vicinities of many NDLEA operational offices across the country. Some of the prosecuted offenders who forfeited their ill-gotten wealth to the government had returned to the business stronger and with a thick skin such that they now have ‘immunity’ against arrest or prosecution.
It has been proposed that the agency should urgently prioritise prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, ensuring that those affected by hard drugs are given the necessary support and care they need to return to a normal life. Again, what has happened to the NDLEA Drug Abuse Call Centre with a 24/7 toll free helpline (080010203040 ), which was opened to attend to drug and drug related issues? It should tell the public how many cases were received and how they were treated. What is even the level of public trust and confidence in the NDLEA? The answer is more imagined than explained. This is bound to affect communication between members of the public and the agency, because trust is needed before one could think of placing a call to the other end, even if the call line is effective and responsive. That can hardly be the case when the NDLEA is busy with a rat chase for a few unconnected drug peddlers, while forgetting the root causes of drug patronage, which is where a team of professionals, including psychologists, psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, mental health specialists and psychiatry doctors should be provided to support to people who use drugs and their family members, without the fear of being judged or stigmatised, facilitating recovery and managing social and emotional problems, thereby improving their quality of life and national development.
Indeed, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) should walk the talk. It is not enough to embark on preachments because winning the war against drug trafficking is imperative because of its negative impact on society.
However, there are signs of better days under Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) as head of the NDLEA. He had declared sometime ago in Asaba when he led a delegation on a visit to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori at Government House, that the war against hard drugs in the country must be won. Today, the promised collaboration by the state government is paying off, with a drug rehab centre underway in Kwale, Delta State as well as general support for the war on drugs.
Marwa was visibly disturbed by the hard drug scourge in Nigeria with over 15 million drug users within the age bracket of 15 and 64 years. Speaking from a United Nations survey, he called for the support and co-operation of governments at all levels in the fight against the scourge.
Indeed, Marwa should be talking the most to the president on their operational challenges because of the causative factors of rampant kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, insurgency, rape, murder and other vices across the country have been traced to hard drug abuse by the perpetrators. According to Marwa, the NDLEA, in two years, destroyed nearly over 1,000 hectares of land devoted to the cultivation of illicit drugs, seized over 6,000 tonnes and arrested over 36,000 suspects and persons of interest, while over 6,000 were convicted and jailed.
Earlier, Delta state Governor, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, raised the alarm on the growing incidence of hard drug abuse in the country, saying it had become a global public health issue that needed to be tackled head-on and called on all stakeholders to work towards its prompt effective eradication. He commended the NDLEA and other stakeholders on the fight against hard drug abuse, but urged that the momentum be sustained if the nation is to win the war against the growing illicit hard drug business.
The Governor said of Buba Marwa: “I am very touched that you took time to come to Delta State over the incident that happened (referring to Ivan and brother) and also used the opportunity to meet your people here. I celebrate your sacrifice, commitment and dedication to duty. You have demonstrated that you are a caring and passionate leader—the kind of leader we need in Nigeria.
“It is not a strange thing to us because we know you and we know your antecedents during your time as military administrator of Lagos State. Delta State is happy to receive you and we know that, under your leadership, the NDLEA has recorded outstanding successes, bursting drug cartels in the country. I commend you and your personnel at the NDLEA for your resolve to rid the nation of illicit drugs, no matter who is involved. The momentum must be sustained if we are to win the war against drug abuse. Drug abuse is both a global health and social problem. In Nigeria, it has become a public health menace. It needs urgent and proactive actions to be able to handle the trend and I assure you of our unwavering support and partnership in this fight.”
He, however, said that, despite the rise in drug abuse, a lot was being done on advocacy and rehabilitation at the designated centers, adding that, in support of the goals of the NDLEA, he had appointed a capable hand as Senior Special Assistant on illicit Drugs. He said the unfortunate incident, in which an innocent child died and another was injured in the course of an NDLEA operation in the state, would not stop the state government from supporting the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse. “We commend the NDLEA for sending a team for an investigation to ascertain what actually happened. I also instructed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to give a letter to the family to get an American visa for the treatment of the child abroad. On the issue of partnership, we are already partnering. What you are doing in the NDLEA is commendable and Nigerians are happy”, he said.
A respondent, Mr. Okolie Raphael said “efforts to address drug abuse in the country must target motor parks, markets and schools. NDLEA should invest in prevention. The community, individuals and institutions need to commit more resources in the collective quest to stamp out the consequences of the abuse of illicit drugs”. Another concerned member of the public, Mr. Harry Ibinabo, while observing that illicit drugs and substances have wreaked havoc on individuals, with socio-economic and health consequences placing a burden on healthcare systems, the government and people, agreed that in the face of such a formidable challenge, “prevention is the most potent weapon that we can deploy. Prevention not only saves lives; it also saves resources that would otherwise be spent on treatment and rehabilitation. “It empowers individuals to make informed choices, promotes healthy lifestyles, and creates resilient communities capable of withstanding the pressures of drug abuse. Investing in prevention is not merely a moral imperative but a prudent way of safeguarding our future. By allocating resources towards evidence-based prevention programmes, we can break the vicious cycle of drug abuse and protect our youth from falling prey to the menace.
“Prevention efforts must be comprehensive and target all the elements of society, namely schools, markets, motor parks, workplaces, and communities. It must involve all stakeholders, and we all must become stakeholders because the drug problem requires a whole-of-society approach, as no single entity can tackle it alone.”
The country has also urged all Nigerians to support the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative launched by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The present administration said it places youths at the centre of a renewed approach and would support NDLEA to build on the success recorded in the past few years under Buba Marwa.
But the NDLEA Kwale Area Comamnder, Mr. Umar Garba has raised an alarm over new tactics used by drug traffickers in Kwale. He made this known during the 2024 World Drug-Free Day in Kwale, headquarters of Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State. He described drug traffickers and users as “rudely clever, intelligent and swift” in their attempts to outsmart the NDLEA. “Despite aggressive efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking, criminals continually try outmaneuvre us, devising new tactics and routes to evade arrest, making it challenging to completely eliminate the scourge.
Yet, the battle against drug trafficking is ongoing in Nigeria as law enforcement agencies, notably, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, say they have escalated efforts to dismantle the networks of drug barons. But the traffickers are onto trickish peddling methods.
Law enforcement agencies, particularly the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, also say they have so far intensified efforts to rid the country of harmful dealings of drug barons and the dangerous effects of their activities on the section of society that usually patronises them.
But in a bid to have their way, these drug traffickers, who are bent on delivering hard drugs to satisfy the yearnings of their customers and in the process, profit from the illegal trade, desperately devise creative measures to outsmart the security apparatus established by law enforcement agencies to clamp down on their unlawful activities in the country. Despite the creative strategies deployed by these drug traffickers to outwit the security systems emplaced at strategic locations to curb their illegal trade in the country, the NDLEA, led by Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), has continued to give these drug dealers a run for their money.
With these efforts by the NDLEA, in collaboration with other security agencies, youths and people of influential status in society are still accessing and abusing these banned substances. This does not, in any way, downplay the relentless role played by security agents, who, against the backdrop of combating drug dealers, put their lives on the line and, at times, pay the supreme price on the battlefield against these criminal drug peddlers.
However, law enforcement agencies and in particular, the NDLEA, must also think out of the box and deploy intelligence to combat the patterns being deployed by these criminal drug traffickers. Some of the methods devised by the drug peddlers are stated herein. The majority of these strategies explored by drug dealers failed due to the superior preparedness of law enforcement agencies and through these agencies, particularly the NDLEA, their tactics became public knowledge.
There is the gas tanker tactics. Recently, along the Abuja-Abaji highway, a driver and three other people were all in a 40-ft gas tanker vehicle on their way to a destination. As expected, members of the public, upon sighting the tanker, would have thought that the driver and his accomplices were going to deliver gas at a location in the country. But this was not the case. The four persons in the vehicle, whom the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, identified simply as Efe Mikel, 39, Ebigide Cyril, 29, Ejechi Monday, 41 and Friday Chukwudi, 39, were traffickers in hard drugs. The tactic they explored was to conceal 511 jumbo sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 4,752kg in the gas tank compartment of the truck. They loaded the truck in Ondo State and were driving to Abuja to deliver the hard drugs when their shenanigans came to a head during a stop-and-search operation by officials of the NDLEA. Babafemi said the suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. In another episode of hard drug crime-busting, a man, Lawal Oyenuga, who claimed to be influenced by his desires to provide money for his daughter’s examination fees, said when efforts by him to swallow some pellets of cocaine failed, the person who recruited him to traffic the hard drugs, Wasiu Gbolahan, gave him black palm sandals in which the banned substances were concealed. The sandals were kept inside Oyenuga’s luggage as he was to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa, on an Ethiopian Airways flight when officials of the NDLEA intercepted him at the screening point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State. Babafemi, in a statement, said, “A thorough examination of the sandals revealed they were used to conceal two parcels of cocaine weighing 400 grams.” He added that a swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of Gbolahan, who recruits mules for the cartel.
There is the cream bottle approach. A drug trafficker, Hopewell Chukwuemeka, in a bid to evade the security systems set up by law enforcement agents tracking criminal elements trading in hard drugs in the country, concealed 1.10kg cannabis in bottles of body cream going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. But his strategy didn’t pay off; he could not outsmart the watchful eyes of the NDLEA officials that Babafemi said busted his criminal actions and arrested him. Just like Chukwuemeka, other drug dealers had been using the same strategy and some of them were arrested and their consignments confiscated. In Babafemi’s words, the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigations attached to courier companies on Sunday, October 15, 2023, intercepted 1kg methamphetamine concealed in containers of body cream going to New Zealand, as well as another consignment of 2.5kg cocaine and phenacetin hidden in the walls of a carton heading to Saudi Arabia.
Jerry can concealment: It is another strategy explored by traffickers of hard drugs is the concealment of the illegal substances in kegs used in storing palm oil. In one of the many achievements recorded by the agency, Babafemi said operatives at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, intercepted the jerry can of palm oil going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He noted that at the point of examination, it was discovered that 600 grams of cannabis sativa were concealed inside the jerry can, adding that a suspect, Tunde Ogunbowale, was arrested.
Babafemi added that “an attempt to export 2.7kg cannabis packaged as part of dried onions to Dubai through a postal service firm was frustrated by NDLEA officers attached to the courier company, who seized a carton filled with colourful sachets of dried onions, used to conceal the illicit consignment.” Yet, many agreed that the NDLEA must do more to ensure that the war against illicit drugs is won and lost in the not-too-distant future.
