85- year-old widow, five others arrested for drug trafficking In Edo

By Jethro Ibileke

The Edo State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mitchell Ofoyeju, has warned that old age will not shield drug traffickers from prosecution.

Officer stated this in a statement on Monday in Benin, following the arrest of an 85-year-old grandmother with a large consignment of illicit drugs.

The octogenarian, Grace Ehimeka, popularly known as Mama Grace, was arrested on October 16, 2026, in her residence at Warake community in Owan East Local Government Area with 15 bags of cannabis weighing 179kg.

She was arrested alongside five other suspects during coordinated raids that yielded a total of 407.39kg of cannabis and other banned substances.

“The NDLEA Act is clear: you cannot hide under the canopy of old age and perpetrate acts that violate the law. The octogenarian was apprehended in her house at Warake. This is a bad example for her children and grandchildren,” Ofoyeju said.

The NDLEA boss said the operations were based on credible intelligence and covered Warake, Ivbiaro and Ewe-Uzeba communities.

According to him, 57-year-old Ali Garba was picked up in Ivbiaro on October 15 with 5.85kg of cannabis sativa, while 45-year-old Habib Braimoh was arrested the same day in the same community with 100 grams.

In Warake, 35-year-old Musa Mubid was arrested with 2kg of cannabis, 309 grams of cannabis seeds, 114 grams of loud and 135 grams of pharmaceutical drugs including tramadol, swinol and diazepam.

On October 16, operatives arrested 53-year-old Ayo Aigberadion in Ewe/Irue, Owan East, with 220.8kg of cannabis sativa, while 35-year-old Hope Okoro, an indigene of Ndukwa West LGA of Delta State, was arrested in Auchi town with 237 grams of loud.

Other recoveries include 546 grams of loud, 114 grams of tramadol, 4 grams of diazepam and 3 grams of swinol.

Mama Grace, who confessed to owning the drugs, blamed hardship for her involvement.

“I am a widow and started selling cannabis over two years ago just to survive. My family members have warned me to stop, but I kept postponing my decision to stop. Officers, if you give me another chance, I will never sell cannabis again,” she pleaded.

Ofoyeju reaffirmed the Command’s resolve to rid Edo of illicit drugs and urged residents to provide timely information to support the agency’s operations.