MUSHIN, Nigeria – A midnight operation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, reportedly turned deadly on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in the Idioro area of Mushin, Lagos State.
According to local reports, two residents, one identified as Gafar Yusuf, were allegedly killed by stray bullets as NDLEA officers engaged in sporadic gunfire.
Witnesses reported that the NDLEA operatives, numbering around 50, stormed the community around 10 p.m. to raid a known drug den.
In the face of resistance from locals, the officers reportedly resorted to indiscriminate gunfire.
“We are not saying the NDLEA should not do their job, but why will its operatives be shooting anyhow in a residential area?” questioned a resident who identified himself as Olasunkanmi. According to Olasunkanmi, the stray bullets fatally struck two young men in the head and chest, leading to immediate death.
Adding to the outcry, another resident, Lukmon, confirmed the death of Yusuf. He revealed that Yusuf’s mother, Olaide, had called him distressed over the incident. “Gafar Yusuf, 22, was killed on Imoru Street. We are already making arrangements to bury his corpse. We heard three people were killed during the raid but what I can confirm for now is the death of two persons,” Lukmon stated.
As of press time, the NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, had not responded to calls or messages for comments.
The incident has stoked anger among the residents and calls for greater accountability in law enforcement operations.
2 Church Officials, Others Detained in NDLEA Drug Bust in Delta
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested four members of a drug syndicate, including two church officials and two women, involved in trafficking the deadly opioid, fentanyl, in Delta State.
This significant development was announced by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Abuja.
In addition to this operation, the anti-narcotic agency also raided a skucchies factory in Ogun. It seized over 4,560kgs of skunk in interdiction operations across Lagos, Adamawa, and Osun states.
This series of arrests is the culmination of several months of intensive, intelligence-led investigation into the syndicates responsible for distributing the lethal opioid, which is reportedly 100 times more potent than heroin.
“The bust of the fentanyl cartel operating from Warri, Delta State, is coming barely a month after two members of another syndicate were arrested at Ogbogwu market, Onitsha Head Bridge, Onitsha South LGA, Anambra State,” Babafemi said.
The arrested church officials, Adewale Abayomi Ayeni, 39, and Ebipakebina Appeal, 41, are affiliated with Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministries (aka Mercy City Church) in Warri, Delta State.
Ayeni oversees the church’s prayer call centre, and Appeal is responsible for transporting international guests from the airport to the church.
Two female accomplices, Naomi David, 28, a staff member of United Parcel Services, UPS, and Stacy Njideka, 27, a business associate of Ayeni’s, were also apprehended in Warri during the investigation.
These arrests are part of the NDLEA’s intensified efforts to clamp down on the distribution of lethal drugs like fentanyl, which according to Babafemi, is responsible for over 70 per cent of overdose deaths and a significant contributor to both fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States.
