NDLEA arrests ex-Boko Haram member, traditional ruler, others for drug trafficking

The traditional ruler of Kajola, a border community between the states of Ondo and Edo, Baale Akinola Adebayo, and an ex-Boko Haram fighter named Alayi Madu were both detained by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday for drug trafficking.

The PUNCH reports that NDLEA officers stormed Kajola forest in Kajola community in the early hours of Friday, March 10, where they destroyed three cannabis farms totaling 39.801546 hectares as part of ongoing operations to wipe out illicit drugs across the nation before the upcoming round of elections.

Akinola Adebayo, the 35-year-old farmer who claims to be the Ba'ale of Kajola, was detained on the property at 2:30 am, and Arikuyeri Abdulrahman, 23, and Habibu Ologun, 25, who were thought to be his employees, were also apprehended in a hut close by.

These were revealed in a statement issued by the NDLEA's Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, which our correspondent was able to receive on Sunday.

In a similar vein, NDLEA agents detained 26-year-old Alayi Madu on March 9 along the Abuja-Kaduna express road with 10 kilograms of skunk, which he claimed to have purchased in Ibadan, Oyo State, and was transporting the consignment concealed in a sack to Maiduguri, Borno State. Madu spent 15 years fighting for Boko Haram before turning himself in to the Nigerian military in 2021.

Babafemi said, “In his statement, Madu said he is from Banki town, Borno State and joined the notorious terrorist organisation in 2006 when he was nine years old. He said he repented and surrendered to the military in 2021, after which he underwent rehabilitation and de-radicalisation processes at Umaru Shehu rehabilitation centre, Maiduguri and Malam Sidi de-radicalization centre, Gombe before he was discharged after spending six months.

“Thereafter, he travelled to Ibadan, Oyo State where he worked as commercial motorcycle rider (Okada rider) before going into drug trafficking, and was eventually arrested along Abuja-Kaduna express road.”

Source