The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) convicted 974 drug offenders between January and March 2026. This included 11 well-known drug kingpins who were sentenced to a total of 254 years in prison.
Reports say that the agency said the convictions show that they are working harder to break up drug trafficking networks and bring criminals to justice across the country.
Over the course of three months, convictions rise steadily.
In January, there were 265 convictions, in February, there were 316, and in March, there were 393.
Of the 974 people who were found guilty, 899 were men and 75 were women. This shows that the crackdown was widespread across different groups.
One of the most serious convictions was that of Adegbite Solomon, a businessman from Italy who was also known as Obama. He was found guilty on 15 counts of drug-related crimes and given a total sentence of 130 years.
On March 18, Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos made the decision that the sentences would run at the same time.
The court also took away the convict’s pharmacy license and told him to give up his assets, which included pharmacy stores and money in several bank accounts.
Justice Nkenoye Maha of the Federal High Court in Ibadan gave Ridwan Animashaun a 25-year prison sentence for another serious crime.
Animashaun had already been found guilty of a similar crime in 2022.
Rauf Asogba and Seun Olaniyi were also given 17 years in prison for trafficking large amounts of skunk.
Jonathan Nuhu and Idris Yusuf were also sentenced to 15 years in prison, while several others were given seven-year sentences in different places.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said that the convictions were a big step forward in Nigeria’s fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
He said, “Getting 974 convictions in just three months shows how hard our officers work.”
“For the 11 kingpins who thought they were untouchable, their 254 years in prison is a clear sign that the law has caught up with them.”
Marwa praised the courts for speeding up drug-related cases, saying that quick justice is still very important for stopping criminal groups.
He also praised NDLEA officers for their hard work and told Nigerians to keep giving them information to help with their work.
He went on to say, “These victories belong to the people who give us the information we need to do our jobs.”
The agency said again that it would step up its efforts to catch drug traffickers across the country, take their assets, and put them in jail.
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