Nigeria's NDLEA Declares Odogwu and Three Associates Wanted, Freezes ₦9.84bn Assets

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has declared alleged drug kingpin Nnamuka Kelvin Uchenna, known as “Odogwu,” and three associates – Emmanuella Chinonso Iroka, Nnamuka Ifeanyi Kingsley and Ekechi Franklin Chijioke (also known as Ekene Okwunaga) – wanted for operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Imo State. The declaration follows a Federal High Court order in Owerri issued after an ex‑parte application by the NDLEA on 3 July 2026.

The laboratory, uncovered on 25 February 2026 at Isiozi, Umuaka in Njaba Local Government Area, yielded 18.4 kg of methamphetamine and related equipment. Investigations linked the four suspects to the lab, but they have fled and remain at large. The NDLEA has frozen bank accounts holding a combined ₦9,840,873,566.66 and secured interim forfeiture orders on a filling station, multi‑storey residential buildings and four luxury SUVs.

Agency Chairman Brig‑Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa described the operation as a “major breakthrough” in dismantling organised drug‑trafficking networks and vowed to continue using forensic and financial intelligence to target both traffickers and the financial infrastructure supporting the trade.