Date: 2021-06-23

Ibrahim Musa, an ex-Soldier arrested with 12.167 kg of Arizona (cannabis sativa), 4 grams of cocaine and 25 grams of flunitrazepam, has narrated how he got the contact of his drug suppliers while serving in Chibok, Borno State.

Chibok shot into limelight after Boko Haram insurgents abducted female students in the community in 2014.

In a statement, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the 52-year-old ex-Soldier, who was apprehended in Ilorin metropolis on Thursday, worked in the maintenance department at Abati Army Barracks, Lagos, from where he was deployed to 117 Battalion in Chibok, Borno, before he deserted the Army.

He had reportedly arrived Ilorin in company of his wife, Basirat Musa, in his Honda Accord car with registration number JJ 707 BL Lagos, which was seized with the exhibit.

Under interrogation, Ibrahim reportedly revealed that while at Chibok, he got the connection of a supplier of Arizona (Cannabis) and other drugs whom he immediately contacted when he deserted the Army in October 2020.

He said he decided to go into the illicit drug business to enable him fend for his two wives and three children.

The suspect revealed that the latest journey was his second trip to Ilorin to deliver the drugs and decided to travel with one of his wives who was not aware of his mission to Ilorin.

Also, a medical doctor, Jane Chioma Ofoma, allegedly operating an online catering service through which she "sells drugged cookies and biscuits", has been arrested.

Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said following intelligence and surveillance, narcotic officers of the Edo State Command of the agency stormed Ofoma's base at Auchi, Edo Sate, on Saturday.

He said she was arrested and 94 pieces of cookies produced with cannabis sativa were recovered.

"Chioma, 26, who is a graduate of medicine from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka recently completed her housemanship at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. She has confessed to baking the cookies with skunk in her statement while under interrogation," Babafemi said.

Reacting to the arrests, Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the Edo and Kwara state commands of the agency for their vigilance and commitment to the goal of ridding Nigeria of the menace of illicit drug trafficking and abuse.

He charged the commanders, officers and men of the two commands and their counterparts across the country not to relent in the discharge of their responsibilities while assuring them that he will continue to make their welfare a priority.