Centenarian In Custody: NDLEA Shocks Nation With Cocaine Bust Hidden In Fufu

A 101-year-old great-grandmother was detained by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) agents for dealing in illegal drugs. They also found cocaine hidden in edible cassava flour, or fufu.

On Saturday, August 15, NDLEA agents arrested Esther Ogunmabo, a 101-year-old woman in Ilisan, Ogun state, with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 90 grams, which she claims she sells to locals. This was an uncommon and shocking development.

After her provisions store was destroyed by fire, the centenarian told the officers that she turned to the illegal drug trade. She added that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, arranges for the substance to be supplied to her every four days, which she then sells in pieces.

However, due to the suspect’s advanced age, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, has ordered that she be granted bail and put on counseling, while her daughter has been taken into custody.

In a related development, on Friday, August 21, NDLEA agents in Akwa Ibom State, acting on reliable information, stopped a wooden boat that was transporting illegal drugs to fishing communities in the Republic of Cameroon.

The boat was traveling to the fishing ports of Ine Isu, Ine Mbah, and Ine Ikot Itie Udung in Cameroon when three suspects were apprehended on board: Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, was apprehended with a 1.120 kg skunk; Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, who was found in possession of 42.060 kg of skunk; and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, who had 435 grams of skunk and 20 grams of cocaine that had been deftly hidden inside a big wrap of edible cassava fufu. The three were found to have 42.622 kg of drugs.

It’s truly disheartening to see how much the world is changing, where even a 101-year-old grandmother can become entangled in such a scandal. One can’t help but wonder: was she coerced or forced into this, or did others take advantage of her age and vulnerability? This incident raises serious questions about exploitation and the true state of justice in our society.