NDLEA nabs Lagos socialite, filmmaker; arrests 2 ladies for producing drug laced cakes for students

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) began the year with high-profile arrests, including that of a prominent Lagos socialite, Nollywood filmmaker, and several others linked to illicit drug activities and related crimes.

In a statement released on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, confirmed the arrest of 61-year-old Aishat Ajoke Elediye, also known as “Iya Ruka,” at her mansion in Okota, Lagos.

Elediye, long sought by authorities for allegedly heading a drug cartel operating out of Mushin, Lagos, was apprehended on January 1, 2025, after a truck transporting 1,540 kilograms of imported cannabis was intercepted.

“On the surface, Alhaja Ajoke is a businesswoman who imports fabrics and shoes from China, but beneath is a massive illicit drug trade. She is also recognized as the Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, an influential club of society women in Lagos,” the NDLEA statement disclosed.

The operatives stormed her residence at 33 Adebayo Oyewole Street, off Ago Palace Way, following the truck’s seizure, where she was arrested.

In another operation, the NDLEA arrested Nollywood and Hollywood filmmaker Emeka Mbadiwe in his Lekki hotel room on December 27, 2024. This followed the earlier arrest of his associate, Uzoekwe James, at a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja.

James was allegedly dispatched by Mbadiwe to retrieve 33 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 17.30 kilograms. The shipment had arrived at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on December 24, 2024, from the United States, hidden in wooden boxes.

In a related development, on December 29, 2024, NDLEA officers in Kwara State arrested two women accused of producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes to students in Ilorin. Khadijat Abdulraheem, a 24-year-old graduate, and Ayomide Morakinyo, a 20-year-old University of Ilorin student, were apprehended at Tanke-University of Ilorin Road.

A search of their apartment reportedly uncovered 42 pieces of drug-infused cakes, the statement said.

The NDLEA also nabbed an ex-convict, Sodade Eniola, and three others for passport smuggling. Eniola, previously convicted of drug trafficking in June 2024, was arrested again after 52 international passports were found concealed in shoe soles and food shipments bound for Canada, Russia, and other countries. The suspects were handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service for further investigation.