The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said the recent attack on its image by Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru (Kwara South) was borne out of vendetta and malice rather than based on any altruistic motive or national interest.
The agency said it waited for a whole week, hoping the lawmaker would clarify his position on such a weighty allegation against it, but failing to do that, it is left with “no option than to come out and set the record straight for the benefit of other distinguished members of the Senate, our local and international partners as well as the general public.”
NDLEA stated this at its national headquarters in Abuja yesterday during a press briefing to respond to Senator Ashiru’s disparaging statement that “the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is corrupt and compromised.”
Addressing the press, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said, “The NDLEA is compelled to call this press briefing today because of an unfortunate development earlier last week during plenary in the Nigerian Senate when some uncomplimentary, unfounded, defamatory remarks were made against the agency.
“While acknowledging the great work of the senate towards the upliftment of Nigeria and Nigerians, especially their support for the ongoing concerted efforts towards the amendment of the NDLEA Act, the agency, however, said it is duty-bound to respond to the unprovoked attack against it by Senator Ashiru during his contribution to the debate on a new bill for an Act to establish the National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.”
Babafemi further stated, “There is no doubt that setting up another agency is within the power of the Senate, and if we are invited to contribute to the debate, we will be willing to offer our opinion. While we cannot fault the power of the Senate on that, yet for a member of the upper chamber to have made such an unfounded and unwarranted categorical statement against the agency led us to look inward to see what could have been responsible for such a carpeting general statement. What we found was shocking, and we concluded that his statement came from a place of vendetta and certainly not out of public interest or any altruistic motive.
“The personal house of the senator in GRA Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, had been raided in the recent past, where drugs and illicit substances were recovered while two of his aides, Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammed Yahaya, were arrested. Based on credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed that the senator’s house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users, the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30 pm on February 4, 2024, during which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.
“In another encounter with the senator, the agency also received intelligence that some of his boys, popularly known as ‘Omo Senator’ operating from his home town, Offa, were equally dealing in illicit drugs. A raid was subsequently carried out on their joint in Offa, where one of them, Oluwatosin Odepidan, was arrested, and illegal drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis were recovered from him on June 11, 2023. The bid to get the agency to drop the case against Odepidan, including a visit to the Kwara State Command headquarters of the agency in Ilorin by the personal assistant to the senator, one Omoluabi, was rebuffed as Odepidan was promptly charged to court and prosecuted. Though the culprit jumped court bail in 2023, he was re-arrested in 2024 after the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He was eventually convicted and sentenced in June 2024.
“So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that the agency has had with the senator must have been responsible for his outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before.”
The NDLEA further said that despite Senator Ashiru’s attempts to create a negative image, the NDLEA has continued to receive accolades from local and international bodies for its successes in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
