LAGOS, Nigeria – Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested one of Nigeria’s most wanted drug lords, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, after 13 years in hiding. The arrest follows a series of significant cocaine and heroin seizures linked to him at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. Okay News reports.
The NDLEA disclosed that Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 for attempting to import cocaine into Nigeria. He was arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in case number FHC/L/187c/2923. The drug kingpin jumped bail shortly after the court granted him release and remained at large for over a decade.
In February 2024, Chidiebere’s name resurfaced following the interception of 49.70 kilograms of heroin imported from South Africa at the Lagos airport. Subsequent operations on 19th February 2024 at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located at No. 16/18 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, led to the recovery of an additional 2.20 kilograms of heroin from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. Chidiebere then went underground.
The agency secured the interim forfeiture of his hotel and blocked all bank accounts traced to him since 2024. Unable to sustain life in hiding, Chidiebere surrendered to the NDLEA on 13th February 2026 and is now in custody to face charges both from 2013 and fresh charges related to the 2024 heroin consignments.
NDLEA’s operations nationwide also yielded major drug busts. On 25th February 2026, the agency dismantled a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area, Imo State, recovering 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals. At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, a Togolese woman, Hadiza Musa, was caught with 5,000 tramadol pills on 27th February.
In Lagos, 1,040 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, were seized from an unfinished building at Akodo village, Seaside Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki. In Kano State, Ashiru Bala, 45, was arrested on 25th February with 1,499 bottles of codeine syrup in his Volkswagen Golf car. Other notable arrests include Yahaya Usaini, 21, with 87.4 kilograms of skunk in Katsina State; Adewale Fatunmise, 40, and Adebisi Korede, 25, with 18.085 kilograms of skunk in Osun State; and Bulama Modu, 24, caught in Borno State with 7,000 tramadol capsules.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended officers for their efforts. “I commend our officers and men for their persistence and professionalism in this operation,” he said, highlighting the balance between reducing drug supply and demand across the country.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) program continues nationwide with sensitization campaigns in schools, including Government Girls Science Secondary School, Tungan Magajiya, Niger State; Federal Government College, Odo Oru, Ogbomoso, Oyo State; Government Day Senior Secondary School, Fagam, Jigawa State; Government Science College, Esuk Ekpoeyo, Cross River State; and Government Junior Secondary School, Rumfa College, Kano State.
