The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 58-year-old fugitive drug lord, Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, who had been on the wanted list of Nigerian and British authorities for over 15 years.
According to a statement on Wednesday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, Ilomuanya was apprehended in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, during a coordinated operation by officers of the Agency’s Special Operations Unit.
He said that the arrest of the drug lord brings to an end a prolonged manhunt stemming from a history of drug-related offences in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, underscoring his sustained involvement in the global narcotics trade.
Ilomuanya was first arrested in February 2003 and convicted in the United Kingdom for drug trafficking. Although sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment, he was released after two years following a successful appeal.
In July 2011, he was again arrested in the UK for drug-related offences but jumped administrative bail and fled to Nigeria.
In November 2018, NDLEA operatives arrested him in Nigeria after uncovering two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories at his residence in Obinugwu, Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State, and at his Lagos home, where officers recovered 77.960 kilograms of methamphetamine along with production equipment.
He was subsequently arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos but absconded after jumping bail.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s sustained crackdown on drug cartels.
He said the operation demonstrates that fugitives cannot evade justice indefinitely, stressing that the agency remains committed to strengthening intelligence-led operations and international collaboration to ensure that those involved in illicit drug trafficking are brought to justice.
Marwa also commended the Special Operations Unit for its professionalism and persistence in tracking down the suspect, reaffirming the agency’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating within and beyond Nigeria.
