NDLEA raided, found drugs in house of Senator accusing us of corruption – Marwa

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed how it raided and found illicit drugs in the residence of a Kwara All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker, Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru.

Chairman of the anti-narcotic agency, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, disclosed this while reacting to the recent attack against NDLEA by the lawmaker at a media briefing on Monday, October 21, 2024.

According to Marwa, the Kwara South Senator’s house in Ilorin, the state capital, was raided and officials of the agency discovered a consignment of drugs.

The NDLEA Chairman, represented by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said three of Ashiru’s aides were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced, including one sent to jail in June this year.

Babafemi berated the lawmaker for his comment that “the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is corrupt and compromised…”

Senator accuses NDLEA of corruption

Speaking at the plenary last week, Ashiru alleged that the NDLEA is the most corrupt and compromised agency in Nigeria.

He made the remarks while contributing to the debate on a ‘Bill for an Act to establish National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation.’

He claimed that the anti-narcotic agency has woefully failed in its mandate, thereby giving credence to the creation of another drug-related agency.

“The failure of NDLEA has resulted in the high rate of drug trafficking going on in the country. The NDLEA is corrupt and compromised, hence, I support the creation of the National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation,” he stated.

NDLEA accuses Senator of pursuing a vendetta

However, Babafemi described the lawmaker’s utterances as uncomplimentary, unfounded and defamatory.

“While acknowledging the great work of the Senate towards the upliftment of Nigeria and Nigerians especially their support for the ongoing concerted efforts towards the amendment of the NDLEA Act, the Agency however said it is duty-bound to respond to the unprovoked attack against it by Senator Ashiru during his contribution to the debate on a new bill for an Act to establish the National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, October 15, 2024,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesman said the agency waited for a whole week before replying hoping that Ashiru would clarify his position on such a weighty allegation against it.

He added the Senator’s failure to do so left the agency with no option but to come out and set the record straight for the benefit of other distinguished members of the Red Chamber, its local and international partners as well as the general public.

“The personal house of the senator (Ashiru ) in GRA Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, had been raided in the recent past, where drugs and illicit substances were recovered while two of his aides: Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammed Yahaya were arrested.

“Based on credible intelligence and surveillance which confirmed that the senator’s house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users, the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30 pm on February 4, 2024, during which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.

“In another encounter with the senator, the agency also received intelligence that some of his boys popularly known as ‘Omo Senator’ operating from his home town, Offa, were equally dealing in illicit drugs. A raid was subsequently carried out on their joint in Offa where one of them, Oluwatosin Odepidan was arrested and illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis were recovered from him on June 11, 2023.

“The bid to get the agency to drop the case against Odepidan including a visit to the Kwara State Command headquarters of the agency in Ilorin by the Personal Assistant to the senator, one Omoluabi, was rebuffed as Odepidan was promptly charged to court and prosecuted.

“Though the culprit jumped court bail in 2023, he was re-arrested in 2024 after the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He was eventually convicted and sentenced in June 2024.

“So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that the agency has had with the senator, must have been responsible for his outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before,” he added.

Babafemi says NDLEA is receiving appraisals

The agency said despite the Senator’s effort to tarnish its image, it has continued to receive accolades from local and international bodies for its strides in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

“Incidentally, the next day after Senator Ashiru made the statement, NDLEA in Lagos commissioned a new Marine Command Headquarters building donated by the Government of the UK. A similar facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport was donated last year by the same British government.

“We have had other facilities donated by United States INL and executed by UNODC in the past 12 months. We have been receiving various support from the governments of France, Germany and the US, among others.

“Suffice it to say that in the past three years, NDLEA has emerged as a regional leader among national drug law enforcement agencies. So, come to think about it, an agency so badmouthed by Senator Ashiru couldn’t have been attracting such international goodwill and commendation for being the ‘most corrupt government agency’ in Nigeria.

“Against the background of our encounter with people linked to him, we are wont to believe that Senator Ashiru’s invectives against NDLEA were borne out of vendetta and not any opinion made in the public interest.

“As an agency, we have been professional in our activities and interactions with citizens as we carry out arrests daily. In the past three years, we have made over 52, 000 arrests and got more than 9, 000 convictions, including three life sentences this year. And, as part of our mandate, we have engaged in over 7,000 awareness and sensitisation activities in schools, workplaces, worship centres and communities; treatment and rehabilitation of more than 33,000 drug users including the last two persons arrested in the senator’s house; supported by governments, organisations and other stakeholders in the country and around the world.

“Outside this country, NDLEA has become a reference for drug law enforcement. Therefore, the statement by Senator Ashiru, made in the country’s hallowed chamber in the course of a legislative debate, and made to justify the creation of another agency is motivated by malice; it is a gross misrepresentation of fact; and it is defamatory to the image of NDLEA.

“We believe the well-meaning public; our stakeholders and our partners can see through such calculated mendacity.”