Editor’ Note: Experts say that the fight against drug trafficking in Nigeria is being hampered by corruption among the ranks of the National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). There is also growing alarm over rates of domestic usage of illicit substances in Nigeria, a country once seen primarily as a drug transit point.
NAIJ.com’s Olajide Adelana dives into the world of Nigeria’s narcotics rings from the north to the south of the country and his shocking discoveries explain why drug trafficking activities are increasing among Nigerians.
A tale of drugs and betrayal
Abdul Fatai Olori finally heaved a sigh of relief when his plane landed at the popular Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos from Brazil. He had two bags containing cocaine and could not wait to fetch his luggage and get them delivered to his benefactor, Chief Akindele Ikumoluyi, popularly referred to as “Ile Eru”.
Olori had met Akindele in 2004 through a man called ‘Koko’ when he needed money to sort out his lingering health problems. Akindele then promised to give him more money than he requested. But not without a condition –Olori would have to travel to Brazil and “collect an undisclosed message” from Akindele’s business associate.
Olori, who had never travelled out of the country, saw this as a great opportunity and jumped at the offer.
Days later, Akindele presented Olori with his passport and visa to travel to Brazil. He was full of joy until he got to Brazil and was locked up for days.
“When I got to Brazil I was picked up by a man who took me to a house where I was locked up for three weeks. I was provided with food but denied free movement. It was after three weeks that he came back with two bags containing cocaine,” Olori recalled in a chat with NAIJ.com.
“The message Akindele wanted me to ‘collect’ from his business associate finally became clear,” he said.
Olori said he was scared and afraid of being arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) when he returned to Nigeria but was re-assured by Akindele that his smooth passage through the Lagos Airport had already been settled.
He said that Akindele had boasted that NDLEA officials “were his people and have been doing business with him” for a while.
Everything went as planned until Olori was told to step aside by some ‘naïve’ officials of the National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the airport. The officials apparently, were unaware of the secret pact Akindele had made with some of his cronies in the NDLEA.
After a thorough search by the officials, Abdul Fatai Olori was accused of trafficking 10 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria. Olori immediately became a suspect and was made to write a statement.
Muritala Muhammed International Aiport in Lagos records very regular arrest of drug couriers who are trying to ferry drugs abroad.
“I wrote my statement telling them the whole truth and how Akindele was involved.”
The next day, after Akindele had met with some NDLEA officials at the airport, they instructed him (Olori) to write another statement without indicting Akindele.
“I later called him (Akindele) to come and explain things to the government people but he didn’t answer me. He abandoned me and wanted me to rot and die in prison for what I did not know anything about,” Olori said in a loud voice.
Akindele Ikumoluyi, popularly referred to as “Ile Eru” was at that time one of the most wanted drug barons with a lot of influence in the West-African illicit drugs market.
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Olori was charged to court and later granted bail after some months in detention.
Olori, who got angry that Akindele deserted him in his time of trouble, vowed to co-operate with NDLEA officials so as to nail the baron.
“I was very honest with the NDLEA people especially the prosecuting team. I told them everything and that I was ready to cooperate with them so that Akindele can be arrested before many people fall into his trap,” Olori told NAIJ.com.
Olori said he confided in the prosecuting team and together they were able to trace about 13 properties belonging to Akindele who was always ahead of them whenever they were close to arresting him.
Akindele was later arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on March 18, 2008 after many foiled attempts.
NDLEA officials at a stadium. The agency says it is trying to stop drug trafficking across the Nigeria.
Even then, investigations by NAIJ.com revealed that corruption in NDLEA is still endemic and regrettably, it is scuttling the country’s anti-narcotic campaign.
The NDLEA was established by Decree No. 48 of 1989, now an act of parliament CAP N30 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004, to curb the rising drug menace in the country.
The establishment of NDLEA was in good faith in line with the recommendation at the 1998 United Nations Convention that independent bodies should lead the onslaught against drug menace in many parts of the world.
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Critics say that the NDLEA has substantially failed in its mandate to protect and maintain the image of Nigeria and Nigerians at home and abroad, recover ill-gotten wealth acquired from the proceeds of illicit drug trade, cut off the supply of illicit drugs, reduce the demand for illicit drugs and other substances of abuse among others.
Many years after its set up, the counter-narcotic campaign of the NDLEA has become ineffective as Nigerians still engage in the criminal business, making profit and achieving global infamy alongside.
The NDLEA has boasted of some major successes, with large hauls of drugs confiscated at border crossings but critics say that this is merely the tip of the iceberg and stress that Nigeria remains a hub of organised drugs crime.
Debo Adeniran is the executive chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), a civil society organization. He said that he believed there had been a sharp rise in corruption within the NDLEA and that urgent action was needed to purge its ranks.
The organisation was incapable of owning up to its own problems, he said, adding, “It has been happening for a very long time.”
In 2015 alone, narcotics worth N3.7 billion ($11.5m) were seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
This included 172kg of cannabis, 160kg of ephedrine, 114kg of methamphetamine, 96kg of cocaine, 45kg of tramadol and 5kg of heroin.
According to the UN’s 2016 World Drug Report, the third largest quantity of cocaine seized around the world was from Nigeria, with 50 to 70 per cent of the drug trafficked by air.
How drug dealers enter and leave Nigeria without being caught
People like Olori, who was a drug courier, believe that for every two or three offenders caught by the NDLEA, more than twice the number have been given undue advantage to go scot-free.
“If you have money those people will leave you alone. There are many bad people in this Nigeria,” said Olori.
He went on to narrate how Akindele evaded arrest because he had informants who always kept him abreast of the plans to arrest him.
Olori’s narrative was also corroborated by a high ranking official of the NDLEA, who does not want his name in print because of security concerns.
Drug dealers have perfected how to escape being caught during airport searches by collaborating with officials.
“Before NDLEA could catch him (Akindele), it took the commitment and diligence of a select few who were on the team set up to nail him. Each time they tried, he would escape because he had informants within the house.
“There was a day that the taskforce had credible intelligence about Akindele’s whereabouts and were about setting out to effect his arrest a call came in and it was Akindele asking that a mutual agreement be reached between him and Olori. Everyone was surprised and shocked,” the NDLEA official, who was aware of Akindele’s case, told NAIJ.com.
In another instance, an NDLEA staff member was arrested over an alleged scheme to import drugs from Brazil.
The NDLEA official, Ali Bala Adamu was arrested in January 12, 2016, along with four alleged co-conspirators – Ijeoma Ojukwu, Victor Umeh, Uche Igwelo and Egbuche Fidelis Osita – on charges of conspiring to import cocaine from Brazil.
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According to the indictment, 20 million naira (60,000 dollars) worth of drugs were concealed in a luggage abandoned at the arrival hall after the arrival of an Emirate Airline flight on December 28, 2015.
Osita, came to the airport on January 1, 2016 to collect the bags, leading to the arrest of other suspects.
Top drug supply points in Nigeria
According to Part 1, Section 3, subsection 1, paragraph q of the NDLEA Act, the agency is to take, charge, supervise, control and coordinate all responsibilities, functions and activities relating to arrest, investigation and prosecution of all offences associated with illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
But this is not what is obtainable in most places when NAIJ.com visited Sokoto, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
Young girls, boys and adults abuse drugs to the chagrin of NDLEA officials, who over time have become indifferent and, in some cases, join in the illegal activities.
In the ancient city and state capital of Kano in Nigeria’s northwest, most of the illicit drug activities appear to take place in Sabon-Gari axis of the state capital which is predominantly occupied by settlers.
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On Aba and Emir roads, drug dealers and users reign with a distinct fashion in the delivery and purchase of hard drugs. Our reporter stumbled on one of such events on Emir Road where drug dealers were seen carefully dispatching neatly concealed wraps of what is suspected to be Indian hemp to their customers late in the evening while using the cover of darkness.
Emir Road in Sabon-Gari axis of Kano state where abusers and traffickers often converge for the drug trade.
Emir road is not new to this trend. In February, two ex-convicts, Messrs Ejike Martins and ThankGod Obums were caught along Emir Road, Sabon-Gari, in a dark green Mercedes Benz car containing compressed 104 blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 66 kilogrammes.
Prior to his arrest, Martins had evaded his jail terms when he was found guilty of attempting to export one kilogramme of cocaine to Spain in 2005 and was subsequently sentenced to two and half years imprisonment.
Martins went back to drug trafficking business. He partnered with Obums and started smuggling cannabis from Edo state to Kano state where they were caught.
Abdullahi Fodio Road: A drug trafficking hot spot in Sokoto.
In Sokoto, in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, the Mammy market along Adullahi Fodio Road is a popular place to get drugs including Tramadol, an opioid analgesic and Benylin with codeine, a cough mixture.
An NDLEA official, who asked to remain anonymous as she was not authorised to speak to the media, served as a guide around the Sokoto market. Our reporter, in the company of the NDLEA official, observed that from a restaurant close to the market gate, most of the illicit drug activities started from 5pm and end at 10pm when the market closes. After that, the business moved outside.
The NDLEA official said that she had lodged complaints about the rising incidences of drug abuse and the apparent impunity with which dealers operated, but no concrete steps had been taken.
Sokoto city gates: In this northern Nigeria city, drugs are traded even in marketplaces.
Like other cities visited, the market has its own lingo when it comes to drug business. Names such as “Today is Today” and “Suck and Die” might sound like the title of a Nollywood movie but are drugs that deliver the desired effect to their users –which is “to get high”.
Many young women in the market have turned to sex work to fund their habits.
Abdullahi Hauwau, from Bauchi state mistook our reporter as a client when our reporter approached her.
Hauwau, who said she came to Sokoto to make money, offered full sex in exchange for N500.
“Are you interested or not?” she asked.
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“I didn’t charge you that much now. I need the money now to get high. Even if you are not ready now I can give you my number so that we can catch up later outside Mammy gate when it is past 10 pm.
“I will do anything you want. Just give me the money first,” a clearly desperate Hauwau said.
Shuddering, and sweating profusely despite the mild weather, Hauwau grabbed our reporter’s phone and punched in her contact details.
Doorway of the ‘drug’ restaurant.
A number of cafes and shops in the market also appear to be hubs for local drug dealers. Young men and women could be observed trooping in and out to get drugs packaged in dark brown or green bottles.
“They also cater for the less privileged and those with low financial power,” said Mohammad, a local trader in the market.
The oil city of Port Harcourt also has a thriving drug business, with gangs in areas such as Rumoola and Rumokwuta specialising in cannabis while dealers in the Government Reserved Area (GRA) of the city control the cocaine supply.
Our reporter met with Osas, a resident of Port Harcourt conversant with how drug dealers operate.
Osas also disclosed that cultist groups resident in the University of Port Harcourt (UniPort), Choba, are one of the major blocs where drug business thrives.
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“One important place you should include in your report is Choba, especially the cult guys from the UniPort. I should know better because my late brother was formerly the head of a cult group in a school in Ekpoma,” Osas said.
Osas said whenever his late brother was in town, leaders of other cultist groups used to besiege him for different reasons some of which included how he could cash in and become a rich drug dealer.
Osas gave an overview of how drugs business works in the city.
Choba in River state’ capital city of Port Harcourt. Another hot spot for drug traffickers in Nigeria
“You cannot just stand up and say you want to buy drugs. Even if it is cannabis, you have to properly do your intro or else the dealers will say you are government and they might hurt you or scamper away,” he said.
“The routine is that you will be introduced by someone who is a regular customer. And the introduction which can be done over the phone depending on trust must carry your name, complexion, height, colour of attire worn and any other thing to describe you.
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“You will then be given a point of collection where someone will then approach you for the drug-money exchange,” he said.
Our reporter also gathered that there are a few exceptions where one can get drugs without much formality.
Government officials looking the other way
One former NDLEA official described how employees of the agency could be pressurised to turn a blind eye to corruption.
Salisu Usman (not his real name) began working at MMIA in 2003 but soon found himself unpopular among his colleagues. Eventually, he was posted away to north-eastern Nigeria.
“I always questioned my colleagues as to why they would let some people go even when there is overwhelming evidence that the person is trafficking drugs,” he said.
“Sometimes they answered me politely and said that I am a round peg in a square hole. It was later that I found out that there were some directives from God-knows-where that somethings should pass without explanations,” Usman said.
When Usman at one point disobeyed one of these directives, he said that he was subtly warned to toe the line.
“The official said that I should be soft a little and follow instructions to the end if I don’t want to be sacked, posted out or framed up,” Usman said.
“It was not like a threat per se,” he noted. “It was more like an advice but any reasonable person can decode it wasn’t an ordinary advice. It was a colleague that they sent. I knew it wasn’t his idea and that he was directed.”
Others explained how crime and graft was covered up due to fear of retribution.
Sam Adurogboye, a former journalist, who is now spokesman for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority gave more insights into Nigeria’s drug issue that just won’t go away.
“I did a story on drugs when I was still young and it was not published. So I asked my editor why the story was not published and he replied that he knows that I am a young boy and that he wants me to marry and have kids.
“They know these drug lords and barons. Most of them are usually highly placed personalities but they cannot be touched because of the power they wield. Am sure you know that some drug lords or mafias in some countries are the ones that decide who will rule or not. They can be powerful,” he said.
Adurogboye said that such pressures should be borne in mind when considering what action to take against corrupt officials.
File photo: NDLEA officials display packaged Indian hemp they discovered. But are they doing enough to end drug trafficking in Nigeria?
“On the contrary, instead of going hard on the NDLEA, we need to understand the issues and put ourselves in their position. We need to sympathise with some who genuinely were pressured to aid drug trafficking. Imagine your family, job or anything dear to you being threatened,” he continued.
Our side of the story – NDLEA
Reacting to issues unravelled by the investigations, NDLEA’s spokesperson, Mr Jarikre Ofoyeju reiterated the recent efforts of the agency in ensuring that appropriate sanctions are applied in addressing infractions and acts of indiscipline and unprofessional conduct among its officials.
The spokesperson, who declined to give a “yes or no” answer to questions seeking to know if the agency was aware that some of its officials are corrupt, said the NDLEA now has a standard operating mechanism to fetch reports of illegal activities of its officers within and without the agency.
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“The NDLEA has a standard operating procedure where it gets reports both from within and outside on the activities of officers. Interestingly, all reports are properly investigated and anyone found guilty are sanctioned accordingly. The certainty of disciplinary action against anyone found wanting has encouraged optimum performance and also enhanced service delivery in the Agency. Let me assure you that the Agency will continue to respect the rule of law in handling all cases of unprofessional conduct,” Mr Ofoyeju said in a chat with NAIJ.com.
He however dwelled on the plans of the current leadership to reposition the agency for efficient and effective functioning in fighting the war against drug trafficking.
“The Agency under Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah is working to bring about a balance between supply and demand reduction. We are targeting medium and high level drug traffickers, seize their drugs, prosecute them and trace their illegal proceeds for forfeiture. Other areas of priorities include staff welfare and motivation, public enlightenment and treatment for problem drug users,” he concluded.
This report was published with moral and financial support from the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
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