A Lagos socialite and Nollywood filmmaker have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged involvement in drug-related crimes.
On New Year’s Day, NDLEA operatives raided the Okota home of Aishat Elediye, 61, a prominent Lagos socialite, and arrested her after intercepting a white Isuzu truck carrying 44 large sacks of imported cannabis, weighing 1,540 kilograms. The truck was driven by her employee, Abideen Adio, 41.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed that Elediye, also known as “Iya Ruka” and “Alhaja Ajoke,” had been on the NDLEA’s wanted list for years. She is alleged to have operated a drug cartel in the Mushin area of Lagos while maintaining a public image as a fabric and shoe importer. She is also known as the “Iyalaje” of a prominent Lagos women’s social club.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Emeka Mbadiwe, a motivational speaker and US-trained Nollywood filmmaker, in a Lekki hotel. Mbadiwe’s arrest followed that of his associate, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, who was caught at a warehouse in Ikeja collecting 33 parcels of Loud cannabis, weighing 17.3 kilograms, smuggled from the United States in wooden boxes.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers arrested two young individuals, Khadijat Abdulraheem, 24, and Ayomide Morakinyo, 20, for producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes near the University of Ilorin. Forty-two pieces of the drugged cakes were seized during a search of their apartment.
The NDLEA also rearrested an ex-convict, Sodade Eniola, for passport racketeering. Sodade, previously convicted of drug trafficking in June 2024, had paid a fine and was released but was later found involved in smuggling passports hidden in shoe soles and food items.
