Bribery, Rights Abuse Allegations Rock NDLEA Edo Command

A major corruption and bribery scandal has engulfed the Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), following allegations of extortion, unlawful detention, and rights abuses leveled against its operatives.

The scandal came to the fore after a 65-year-old woman, (name withheld), alleged that she paid N1.5 million to secure her release from NDLEA detention after spending three weeks in custody.

She was arrested alongside the late Titilayo Akindele in Ogida Quarters, Benin City, over alleged possession of substances suspected to be cannabis.

The controversy deepened after Akindele reportedly died on March 31, 2026, while awaiting arraignment at the Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in Benin City.

Narrating her ordeal, she accused NDLEA operatives of framing her and demanding bribes for bail.

“When they arrested me, I was not with anything, but they used another person’s market to take my pictures,” she alleged.

She further claimed that detainees were routinely forced to pay huge sums to regain freedom.

“I saw some people pay N8 million, others paid N7 million, N5 million. Myself, I paid N1.5 million to come out,” she said.

According to her, some suspects were held for months without trial.
“There was a girl we met there she had stayed for six months. They said they saw ‘Igbo’ (cannabis) with her,” she added.

Corroborating her claims, husband of the deceased, Mr. Adebayo Bashiru, alleged that NDLEA officials demanded as much as N5 million to secure his wife’s release.

Bashiru said initial arresting officers demanded N2 million, but the amount was later increased after she was transferred to NDLEA custody.

“When the NDLEA people began to talk, they said we should bring N5 million. We could not afford it,” he said.

He explained that after raising N500,000, officials allegedly rejected the amount and insisted on a higher sum.

“One of them said I should talk to his oga. The man told us if the money is not up to N3 million, we should forget it,” Bashiru alleged.

Reacting, human rights lawyer, Douglas Ogbankwa, condemned the alleged practices, describing them as a gross violation of citizens’ rights.
Ogbankwa decried what he termed a pattern of impunity within NDLEA detention facilities across the country.

“NDLEA facilities have, in many instances, become zones of prolonged and unlawful incarceration where citizens are held for months without trial and in blatant disregard for constitutional provisions,” he said.

He called for an independent and transparent investigation into Akindele’s death, suspension and removal of officers directly involved
Overhaul of the Edo State command structure, and intervention by the Attorney-General of the Federation

Efforts to get the reaction of the Edo State Commander of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, proved abortive, as he neither answered calls nor responded to text messages as of press time.