Written by
Ishioma Appiah-Yeboah
In a dramatic twist straight out of a crime thriller, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Edo State has re-arrested a suspected drug trafficker who allegedly jumped bail and was falsely declared dead by his wife in an attempt to escape justice.
The suspect, identified as 50-year-old Ibrahim Yusuf Lawal, was on Tuesday re-arraigned before the Federal High Court in Benin after NDLEA operatives uncovered that he was very much alive despite claims of his death.
According to the Edo State Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, Lawal was first arrested in February 2022 at Ugbekun Junction in Esan Central Local Government Area while transporting large quantities of psychotropic substances.
The agency said officers recovered over six kilograms of banned substances, including Lexotan, Diazepam, and Phenobarbital hidden inside a Toyota bus with Abuja registration number BWR 401 XC.
Lawal was later charged to court on a three-count offence bordering on unlawful transportation of controlled substances and was granted bail after pleading not guilty.
However, the suspect allegedly disappeared and stopped appearing in court.In what the NDLEA describes as a calculated attempt to frustrate prosecution, Lawal’s wife reportedly submitted an affidavit claiming her husband had died of tuberculosis in October 2024 and had already been buried according to Islamic rites in Okene, Kogi State
.But acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives launched an investigation and uncovered what officials now describe as a fake death cover-up.
Ofoyeju explains that NDLEA operatives discovered that Ibrahim Yusuf Lawal was very much alive, adding that the suspect was eventually tracked down and arrested during a covert operation.
The case came up before Justice B.O. Quadir of the Federal High Court in Benin and was adjourned to June 22, 2026, for further hearing.The NDLEA says it is also considering prosecuting the suspect’s wife and anyone else involved in what it described as a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice.
The agency warned that no amount of deception would shield drug traffickers from the law and commended officers in Edo and Kogi states for their persistence in tracking down the suspect.