Ex-Lagos Councillor Arrested as NDLEA Recovers Drugs Hidden in Baby Diapers, Intercepts 500 IED Components
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former councillor in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos after operatives recovered 40 kilograms of cannabis from his residence, as the agency also uncovered illicit drugs concealed in baby diapers and intercepted components suspected to be for improvised explosive devices in separate operations across the country.
The suspect, Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan, a 45-year-old former two-term councillor who represented Orimedu community in Ibeju-Lekki, was arrested on Monday, March 2, 2026, at his residence in Ilado area of the council.
According to the NDLEA, a search conducted at his home led to the recovery of 40 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in one of the rooms in the building.
Olalekan, who currently works as a legislative aide, reportedly admitted ownership of both the illicit drugs and the property where the substance was found.
In a separate operation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NDLEA officers intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, on Tuesday, March 3. The suspect was stopped in a vehicle travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in Abuja.
During a search of his luggage, operatives discovered 1,000 pills of tapentadol (250mg) concealed inside baby diapers. Okwor reportedly confessed that he was transporting the drugs to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State where he operates a provision store.
Also on March 3, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 1.55 kilograms.
The substance was hidden inside a standing fan carton belonging to Mey Ali Muhamat, a 36-year-old Cameroonian from Maroua in the Republic of Cameroon. He was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon via Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri when he was apprehended.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba road in Niger State intercepted a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, conveying 500 pieces of improvised explosive device (IED) components concealed in a white sack.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Osama Abdullahi, 21, at Pelegi in Mashegu Local Government Area of the state.
Further seizures were recorded in Adamawa State where NDLEA operatives in Yola recovered 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine hidden in the false bottom of a truck loaded with 2,000 cartons of local drinks.
In Kano State, officers arrested Muhammed Ali, 20, at Gadar Tamburawa with 11,283 tramadol pills, while in Ogun State, two suspects—Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa—were arrested during a raid in Ogere with 46 kilograms of skunk.
Similarly, in Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22, at Ogwashi-Uku with 18.63kg of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup, and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
In Edo State, operatives arrested Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49, at Egbisi Forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area where 1,910.25kg of skunk cultivated on two farms was destroyed. Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was also arrested at Ikhin town in Owan East Local Government Area with 176.50kg of skunk.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns across schools, workplaces and communities nationwide. Awareness lectures were held in several institutions including Government Senior College, Apata in Ibadan; Government Girls Secondary School, Katcha in Niger State; Sango Junior Secondary School, Agege in Lagos; and other schools across Zamfara, Sokoto, Ebonyi and Anambra states.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the agency across multiple state commands for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of enforcement and preventive education in tackling drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
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