A 101-year-old great-grandmother, identified as Esther Ogunmabo, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly selling cannabis in Ilisan, Ogun State.
Ogunmabo was arrested on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets.
According to the NDLEA, the centenarian told operatives that she resorted to selling illicit drugs after her provision shop was destroyed by fire.
She reportedly disclosed that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, which she then sold in small quantities to people in the community.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), directed that the elderly suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age.
Her daughter was also arrested in connection with the alleged drug trade.
The arrest was part of a wider nationwide operation by the NDLEA, which resulted in the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs and the arrest of several suspects.
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In Akwa Ibom State, operatives intercepted a wooden boat allegedly transporting narcotics to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Three suspects were arrested, with 42.622kg of narcotics, including skunk and cocaine, recovered.
The agency also recorded what it described as its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor.
Two containers intercepted at the Apapa and Lekki ports contained a combined 1,490.5kg of cannabis indica, popularly known as “Thai Loud,” with a street value estimated at over ₦4.4 billion.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 tramadol capsules inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora, Niger State.
In Ondo State, the agency also destroyed about 10,000kg of cannabis cultivated across four hectares of forest in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area.
The NDLEA said the operations are part of its continued efforts to disrupt the cultivation, distribution and trafficking of illicit drugs across Nigeria.
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