The Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company (NDLEA) has arrested Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, a fugitive drug lord who has been on the wished record of Nigerian and British authorities for greater than 15 years.
The arrest of the 58-year-old was introduced in a assertion issued by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy on the company, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ilomuanya was apprehended in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, throughout what the company described as a coordinated operation carried out by its Particular Operations Unit.
Reacting to the event, the Chairman and Chief Govt Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) described the arrest as a significant milestone within the company’s sustained offensive towards organised drug networks.
The company mentioned Ilomuanya’s seize brings to an finish years of pursuit marked by repeated makes an attempt to evade prosecution in each Nigeria and the UK. Authorities famous that his prison file displays sustained involvement in transnational narcotics trafficking.
Marwa additionally reaffirmed the company’s dedication to strengthening intelligence-driven operations and worldwide collaboration to forestall Nigeria from serving as a protected haven for world drug syndicates.
Ilomuanya’s encounters with regulation enforcement date again over 20 years. He was first arrested in the UK in 2003 for drug trafficking and sentenced to 9 years in jail, although he was launched after serving about two years following an enchantment.
He was arraigned earlier than a Federal Excessive Court docket in Lagos however later absconded after being granted bail, remaining on the run till his newest arrest.
The newest arrest varieties a part of NDLEA’s broader crackdown on high-profile traffickers and cartel leaders throughout the nation.
NDLEA maintains that it’s going to proceed to accentuate enforcement actions geared toward dismantling drug cartels and disrupting narcotics provide chains working inside and past Nigeria’s borders.
