The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 101-year-old woman, identified as Esther Ogunmabo, over alleged drug dealing in Ilishan, Ogun State.
According to the NDLEA, operatives arrested the centenarian on Saturday, August 15, 2026, after recovering 90 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from her. The agency said the drugs were packaged in small sachets and that the woman told investigators she had been selling the substance locally.
The NDLEA said Ogunmabo claimed she turned to the illegal drug trade after her provision shop was destroyed by fire. She also reportedly told operatives that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplies the drugs to her every few days, while she sells them in smaller quantities.
Because of her advanced age, 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. Her daughter, however, was arrested in connection with the investigation.
The arrest was part of a wider NDLEA crackdown that recorded several major drug seizures across Nigeria. In Akwa Ibom, operatives intercepted a boat allegedly transporting illicit drugs towards fishing communities in Cameroon and recovered 42.622kg of narcotics, including skunk and cocaine concealed inside edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu.
The agency also reported major seizures of Loud, a synthetic form of cannabis, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos. Two containers shipped from Thailand contained more than 1,400kg of the substance, with the NDLEA putting its combined street value at over N4.4 billion.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed about 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of farmland in Ijare Forest, Ifedore Local Government Area. Officers also recovered another 210kg of skunk in a separate operation in Akure North.
Other operations produced significant seizures. In Kwara State, officers recovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine and cannabis from a Toyota Starlet. In Oyo State, a 65-year-old woman was arrested with 4.68kg of various substances, including Scottish Loud, tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam and flunitrazepam.
The NDLEA also intercepted 24,410 tramadol capsules in Abuja and arrested a suspected owner of the consignment in Niger State. In Kano, officers recovered 73.3kg of skunk, while another operation near the Seme border in Lagos led to the seizure of 48kg of skunk and the arrest of three family members.
The case involving the 101-year-old woman has attracted attention because of her age, but the wider NDLEA operation highlights the scale of drug trafficking investigations currently taking place across Nigeria. The agency said its operations will continue alongside drug-abuse awareness programmes in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.
