NDLEA arrests, repatriates fugitive drug kingpin Ibewuike after two-year hunt
Abdullateef Fowewe
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested and repatriated Festus Ibewuike, alias Chidibest Ibewuike, a fugitive drug kingpin who evaded capture for more than two years after the single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).
According to a statement obtained on Wednesday from Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Ibewuike “had evaded arrest for over two years following the interception of the single largest heroin consignment ever recorded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.”
The agency said he relocated to Mozambique, where he operated a hotel business “as a front,” and was among three suspects declared wanted and charged in absentia after a 12-day operation in February 2024 uncovered 49.70kg of heroin hidden in cartons of metal-cutting machines at the airport’s cargo terminal.
That operation led to the arrest of key members of the syndicate, including his wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who “routinely received drug-laden parcels marked with the code ‘ND’ on his behalf,” and triggered the freezing of 107 bank accounts and forfeiture of properties linked to the cartel.
Those arrested were charged before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, in charge no. FHC/L/205C/2024, with three suspects—Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna, and Uzochukwu Frankline already convicted and sentenced, while three others remain on trial and three, including Ibewuike, were charged in absentia.
For more than two years, Ibewuike shuttled between Mozambique and Nigeria via Benin Republic to evade arrest, until actionable intelligence led to his detention at Cotonou airport on 2 September 2026.
The NDLEA worked with INTERPOL in Nigeria and Benin to secure his handover to agency operatives deployed to Cotonou on 4 September, after which he was flown back to Nigeria to face prosecution over his alleged role in the trafficking network.
During preliminary interviews, the 52-year-old confirmed his identity and disclosed that he had changed his name from Chidibest Ibewuike to Festus Ibewuike.
On 5 September, he was taken to the NDLEA’s Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, where he formally identified the heroin parcels bearing the “ND” code linked to him.
Investigators also uncovered his prior association with another drug case before Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari in charge no. FHC/L/203C/2013, involving the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine and the 2023 conviction of one Chidi Ihedioha.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) hailed the arrest as a “major breakthrough in our resolve to track down and bring to justice every drug baron who thinks that fleeing Nigeria’s shores puts them beyond the reach of the law.”
“As I have always vowed, the long arm of the NDLEA will catch up with anyone involved in this illicit trade, no matter how long it takes or how far they run,” Marwa said, adding that Ibewuike “ran for over two years, hiding under a change of name and a new life abroad, but today he is back in Nigeria to answer for the 49.70kg heroin seizure linked to his network.”
He warned that “the Agency will not relent until every one of you is brought to book,” while commending the multinational cooperation with Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL desks that enabled the smooth transfer of custody.
