A 101-year-old woman has landed in NDLEA custody in Ogun State, while agents separately found cocaine hidden inside fufu in Akwa Ibom on Friday, August 21, 2026.
ABUJA, NIGERIA —The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has reported two unusual drug cases across Nigeria, arresting a 101-year-old woman in Ogun State and finding NDLEA cocaine fufu concealment during a separate operation in Akwa Ibom on Friday, August 21, 2026. The agency linked the cases to wider operations against illicit drug trafficking.
The 101-year-old suspect, Esther Ogunmabo, was arrested in Ilisan, Ogun State, on Saturday, August 15, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis. According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the centenarian told investigators that she sold the substance to local customers after her provisions shop suffered a fire. The agency said one of her daughters supplied the cannabis from Lagos every four days.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), directed that Ogunmabo should receive bail and counselling because of her advanced age. NDLEA also arrested the daughter allegedly linked to the supply chain. The agency has not described the 101-year-old woman as the person connected to the cocaine found in fufu, as the two incidents happened in different locations.
In the separate Akwa Ibom operation, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday. The agency said the boat carried suspected illicit drugs towards fishing settlements in Cameroon. Officers arrested three men during the operation and recovered a combined 42.622 kilogrammes of narcotics.
Among those arrested was 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, whom the agency said carried 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu. Officers also recovered 435 grammes of skunk from him. The other suspects, 29-year-old Etima Effiong Eekpo and 33-year-old Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, allegedly carried 1.120kg and 42.060kg of skunk respectively.
Newstridez reviewed the NDLEA account and reports from multiple Nigerian news outlets and found that the headline development actually combines two separate arrests from the agency’s nationwide operation. The 101-year-old woman faced allegations involving cannabis in Ogun, while the cocaine concealed in fufu involved a different suspect in Akwa Ibom. That distinction matters because the available evidence does not connect Ogunmabo to the cocaine seizure.
The Akwa Ibom seizure also shows how traffickers continue to use ordinary food items and everyday containers to conceal narcotics during movement. The NDLEA said the boat headed towards fishing settlements in Cameroon, suggesting that the suspected traffickers intended to move the drugs beyond Nigeria’s immediate territory. Authorities have not yet disclosed further details about the intended recipients or the wider network behind the consignment.
The cases come as the NDLEA continues operations at Nigeria’s borders, ports, highways and local communities. On the same Sunday briefing, the agency reported other seizures, including more than 1.49 tonnes of cannabis indica, popularly called Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos. The agency valued the two consignments at more than N4.4 billion and said officers had uncovered the drugs inside containers carrying legitimate goods.
The Lagos seizure involved 1,090.5kg of Loud hidden in a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, spare parts, soap and inverter batteries at Apapa. At Lekki Deep Sea Port, NDLEA officers found another 400kg concealed beneath 798 reams of A4 paper. The seizures, alongside the Akwa Ibom interception, point to the range of methods investigators face as they track suspected drug networks operating through Nigeria’s transport and trade routes.
For Nigerians, the developments carry both security and public-health implications. Drug trafficking affects communities through the availability of illicit substances, while the movement of narcotics through ports, roads and waterways creates additional pressure on enforcement agencies. The cases also show why authorities need accurate information when reporting arrests, particularly when separate incidents involve different suspects, locations and types of drugs.
The NDLEA has not announced charges or court dates for the three suspects arrested in the Akwa Ibom operation. The agency also said it would provide counselling and bail arrangements for Ogunmabo because of her age, while her daughter remains under arrest over the alleged cannabis supply. Further action will depend on the agency’s investigation and any subsequent court proceedings.
The NDLEA cocaine fufu seizure therefore forms part of a wider nationwide crackdown rather than the case involving the 101-year-old Ogun woman. The agency continues to investigate the Akwa Ibom suspects and the alleged drug supply network, while authorities in Ogun handle the separate cannabis case involving Ogunmabo and her daughter.
