The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja.
Ibewuike was among three suspects declared wanted and prosecuted in absentia following the interception of the heroin shipment by operatives of the agency’s MMIA Strategic Command in February 2024.
The NDLEA described the seizure as the largest single heroin consignment ever intercepted at the Lagos airport.
The drugs were reportedly concealed inside cartons containing metal-cutting machines at the airport’s cargo terminal.
The investigation led to the arrest of several members of the alleged trafficking network, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who was accused of receiving drug consignments marked with the code “ND” on his behalf.
The agency said the operation also resulted in the freezing of 107 bank accounts and the forfeiture of properties allegedly connected to the syndicate.
Following the investigation, the suspects were arraigned before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, in Charge No. FHC/L/205C/2024.
Three defendants — Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna and Uzochukwu Frankline — have since been convicted and sentenced.
Three others, identified as Chidiebere Reginald Peter, Ibewuike Ndidiamaka Confidence and Igbokwuputa Onyinye Ireene, remain on trial.
Ibewuike, alongside Osita Chidozie Cyril and another suspect identified as Arinze, had been charged in absentia after evading arrest.
According to the NDLEA, Ibewuike spent more than two years attempting to escape capture, allegedly moving between Mozambique and Nigeria through the neighbouring Republic of Benin.
His alleged flight ended on September 2, 2026, when actionable intelligence led to his arrest at an airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The NDLEA said its operations were coordinated with INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus in Nigeria and Benin, resulting in the suspect’s handover to a team of NDLEA officers deployed to Cotonou on September 4.
He was subsequently brought back to Nigeria to face prosecution over his alleged involvement in the trafficking network.
During preliminary questioning, the 52-year-old suspect reportedly confirmed his identity and disclosed that he had changed his name from Chidibest Ibewuike to Festus Ibewuike.
On September 5, investigators took him to the NDLEA Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he allegedly identified heroin parcels bearing the “ND” code, which the agency said had been linked to his network.
Further investigations also allegedly connected Ibewuike to an earlier drug case before the Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari.
The case, filed as Charge No. FHC/L/203C/2013, involved the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine. The matter involved a suspect identified as Chidi Ihedioha, who was convicted by the court in 2023.
Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), described the development as a significant breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to apprehend suspected drug kingpins who flee the country.
Marwa said the arrest demonstrated that suspects involved in illicit drug trafficking could not evade justice simply by leaving Nigeria.
He also warned other wanted suspects still at large that the agency would continue to pursue them, regardless of how long they remained outside the
country.
The NDLEA chief commended the international cooperation that facilitated Ibewuike’s arrest and return, particularly the INTERPOL National Central Bureaus in Nigeria and Benin Republic.
The agency said Ibewuike will now face the legal process over his alleged role in the heroin trafficking operation linked to the 49.70kg seizure at the Lagos airport.
