The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has hit back at the senator representing Kwara South Senator, Yisa Ashiru after he accused the agency of being the most corrupt in the country.
Ashiru, on October 15, while contributing to a bill seeking to establish a National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation, accused the NDLEA as the most corrupt and compromised government agency in Nigeria.
He added that NDLEA has failed woefully in its mandate.
Reacting to the claims on Monday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the senator’s comments were borne out of vendetta.
He noted that the senator’s residence in Kwara was raided after intelligence revealed it was being used as a drug joint.
Babafemi added that two of the senator’s aides were arrested during the raid, while one managed to escape.
He said, “For a member of the upper chamber to have made such an unwarranted categorical statement against the agency led us to look inward to see what could have been responsible for such a generalising accusation.
“What we found was shocking, and we concluded that the statement came from a place of vendetta, certainly not out of public interest or any oppressive 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 dealers and users.”
Babafemi said in another encounter with the senator, intelligence revealed that some of his boys, known as “Omo Senator,” were dealing in illicit drugs in Offa.
He said one Oluwatosin Odepidan was subsequently arrested, and illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis were recovered from him on June 11, 2023.
“In another encounter with the senator, the agency also received intelligence that some of his boys popularly known as ‘Omo Senator’ operating from his hometown, 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 illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis recovered from him on June 11, 2023,” he said.
The NDLEA also noted that pressure to drop the case was resisted.
He said, “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.”
Babafemi said the agency was not bothered about the new agency the Senate was planning to establish.
“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,” he said.
Ashiru, however, challenged the NDLEA to prosecute anyone arrested by its operatives in connection with illicit drugs.
Speaking through his Special Assistant, Olaitan Adeyanju, in a statement, the lawmaker asked the anti-graft agency to go ahead and charge anyone accused of engaging in illicit drugs to court.
The statement read in part, “The NDLEA claims to have discovered drugs in Senator Ashiru’s Ilorin house, but there’s no information on which court of law the culprits were charged to.
“Senator Ashiru has been vocal about the NDLEA’s corruption and compromise, which might be the reason behind these allegations.”
The lawmaker’s aide also clarified that Ashiru did not send any aide to influence the dropping of drug allegations against Odepidian, adding that the names mentioned by the agency were unfamiliar.
“However, the senator has challenged the agency to prosecute anyone that is found with illicit drugs,” the statement added.