*She will face the law irrespective of her age — NDLEA BOSS
A 60 year old grandmother, Mrs. Abimbola Remi Adebola who claims to be a national of Benin Republic has landed herself in the NDLEA cell for attempting to smuggle out of the nation's shores, a substance suspected to be heroin. Also in the net are Yessoufou Idrissou and 30 year- old trader, Umeojiaku Charity Nneka. The arrest of the suspects was made easy by the US donated body scanners at the MMIA which prevented the three suspected drug traffickers from smuggling 2.960kg of heroin into America. The three suspects were to board a Delta Airline flight to Atlanta from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos when operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), ended their trip and apprehended them.
Mrs. Abimbola Remi Adebola a 1971 Ordinary Diploma holder in Secretarial Administration from Ibadan Polytechnic then said that financial difficulty forced her into the criminal act. She was found to have ingested 140 wraps of substances that tested positive to heroin weighing 825 grammes on April 2, 2010. According to the grandmother who had a boutique in Abuja, her shop and house were demolished by the FCT authority and she was duped the sum of 2.8 million naira. She has three children, two boys and a girl and her eldest son is 35 years.

“In fact, I was a laughing stock because I lost everything. My problem started in 2005 when my shop at Ladoke Akintola and my house at Chika in Abuja were demolished. I was also duped 2.8 million naira by swindlers that promised to sell a low cost house to me in 2006. Even my son that graduated and completed youth service since 2006 is still searching for a job. In 2007, I could no longer afford my rent in Abuja and I was ejected. All these forced me into drug trafficking because there was no one to help. I swallowed 140 wraps of heroin in a hotel in Lagos and was given 1,000 dollar part payment. I would have been given a balance of 4,000 dollars on successful delivery” Abimbola stated. She hails from Illesha in Osun State. Sharing the same fate is Umeojiaku Charity Nneka who was arrested on the same flight with Mrs. Abimbola.

Charity swallowed 100 pieces of substance that tested positive to heroin weighing 1.170 kg. She also used to own a boutique at Oshodi before the demolition. According to her, in November last year, she met a lady that introduced her to the drug business.

“Since the demolition of my shop at Oshodi, life has been difficult. Last November, this lady talked to me about drugs and promised to reward me handsomely that was how I agreed to carry the drugs. I even contributed 200,000 naira to the deal that would have turned my life around. I swallowed the drugs in a hotel at Aguda, Lagos,” she stated.

Following Charity Nneka is Yessoufou Idrissou from neighboring Benin Republic. He was not lucky as he too was nabbed by NDLEA officers during the screening of passengers on Delta Airline flight to Atlanta, United States. Idrissou, a father of two children stated that he ingested 65 wraps of narcotics in a hotel for a fee of 8,000 dollars. “I owe debts of 1.8 million naira and needed to use the money to service my debt and start something to assist my family” Idrissou stated.

Reacting over the arrest, the Chairman of the NDLEA Ahmadu Giade described the action of Mrs. Abimbola Remi Adebola as 'shameful and disgraceful'. He reiterated his determination to stop illicit drug syndicates from using Nigeria as a transit country.

Giade said that all the suspects will be charged to court in accordance with the NDLEA Act. “As we go after members of drug cartels no accomplice will be spared, the age notwithstanding. Our target is to frustrate drug barons through prompt interception of their drugs as well as diligent prosecution of accused persons” the NDLEA boss stressed.

The NDLEA Airport Commander Alhaji Hamza Umar said that investigation has since commenced into the arrests and promised to bring all the culprits to book. However, preliminary investigation has revealed that members of the syndicates use ladies in recruiting drug mules. Hamza therefore urged members of the public to report any person suspected to be working for drug barons to the nearest NDLEA office.

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