The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says Senator Oyelola Ashiru (Kwara South) ‘s recent attack on its image was borne out of vendetta rather than any altruistic motive or national interest.
The NDLEA Chairman retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa said this on Monday in Abuja while addressing newsmen said Ashiru’s outburst was because of his grouse with the agency.
“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,” Babafemi said.
Senator Ashiru had described the NDLEA as “corrupt and compromised” during plenary last Tuesday.
The NDLEA spox said, “Based on credible intelligence and surveillance which confirmed that the senator’s house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users, the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30 pm on February 4, 2024, during which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.
“So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that the Agency has had with the senator, must have been responsible for his outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before.
“Suffice it to say that in the past three years, NDLEA has emerged as a regional leader among national drug law enforcement agencies. So, come to think about it, an agency so bad-mouthed by Senator Ashiru couldn’t have been attracting such international goodwill and commendation for being the “most corrupt government agency” in Nigeria.
“Against the background of our encounter with people linked to him, we are wont to believe that Senator Ashiru’s invectives against NDLEA were borne out of vendetta and not any opinion made in the public interest.”
The NDLEA chairman said that in spite of the impression the lawmaker was trying to create about its image, the NDLEA had continued to receive accolades from local and international bodies.
He said that the agency had made more than 52, 000 arrests and got more than 9, 000 convictions, in the past three years including three life sentences this year.
