Two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly trafficking illicit drugs to teenage secondary school students in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, are currently in NDLEA custody and are expected to face prosecution.
According to the agency, Obiora was arrested on June 19, 2026, following intelligence reports linking him to the sale of illicit substances to students and other residents from his patent medicine store located on Club Road, Umuahia.
A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In a separate operation, Orji, a pensioner, was apprehended by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, for allegedly supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students of the school.
He was subsequently handed over to the police before being transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that one of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) pupil, confessed that the 84-year-old suspect regularly supplied him with drugs for personal use and resale to fellow students.
Babafemi said while the two suspects are set to be arraigned in court, the affected students have been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
