NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.) reported that hoodlums attacked National Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives on Odunze Lane, Mile 3 axis of Diobu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. During the assault the attackers freed a suspect, Izuu Isuofia.
Three NDLEA officials were on duty in the area, known for illicit drug activities, when the incident occurred on Friday. An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, said the operatives had arrested a suspected drug dealer in the locality popularly called “50” and were moving him to a waiting patrol van stationed on Ikwerre Road’s Iheoma Street. At that moment, suspected cultists attacked them. A few minutes later, additional hoodlums armed with bottles and other weapons began pelting the NDLEA officers, injuring several of them. “The NDLEA men fired shots into the air, but the cult boys kept stone‑throwing and eventually helped the suspect escape before the NDLEA patrol van arrived,” the witness said.
Our correspondent noted that the hoodlums fled with the handcuffed suspect as soon as they saw police patrol vans. The NDLEA later confirmed the attack on its personnel, stating that the suspect had been arrested with a large quantity of *cannabis sativa*. Emmanuel Ogbumgbada, spokesperson for the NDLEA Rivers State Command, said the hoodlums escaped with both the drugs and the suspect. In a statement titled “Mob attack on operatives of NDLEA Rivers State Command,” the agency said the state commander had ordered the re‑arrest of the fugitive and his accomplices.
The statement read: “In the evening of Friday, 14 April 2023, operatives of the NDLEA Rivers State Command raided a hangout/drinking joint on Odunze Street, Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt, and apprehended a suspected drug dealer named Izuu Isuofia, popularly called ‘50’, with a large quantity of *cannabis sativa*. While moving the suspect to the patrol van, he raised the alarm and resisted arrest, leading to a scuffle. Within minutes, large numbers of hoodlums attacked our officers with bottles and stones, freeing the handcuffed suspect and carting away the seized drugs before our backup arrived. The State Commander, Ahmed Mamuda, has tasked operatives to deploy all necessary resources to ensure the suspect and his cohorts are arrested and brought to justice.”
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