Nigeria: 83-year-old woman arrested again for drug possession

Nigeria's anti-narcotics agency announced it had again arrested an 83-year-old woman with methamphetamine and synthetic cannabis tied around her waist, a year after her conviction for drug possession.

"At 83, most grandmothers yearn for rest. Not Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday, who has been arrested again, barely a year after being apprehended, prosecuted and convicted for the same offense," said NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi in a statement.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is considered a transit and production hub for drugs destined for other countries. But these drugs also end up in local markets.

A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that heroin and methamphetamine from Asia also transit through West Africa, via East and Southern Africa to Europe.

Mexican cartels are also establishing themselves in certain regions of Africa, particularly in South Africa and Nigeria, to supply demand in Europe, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

The octogenarian was arrested on October 7 in a village in Abia State, in the southeast of the country, with two grams of cannabis and seven grams of methamphetamine, following a tip.

She was first arrested and convicted last year, along with her 32-year-old daughter, for possession of various quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol (a powerful painkiller in the opioid family), fresh cannabis leaves and synthetic cannabis.

She had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison, with the option of paying a fine of 200,000 naira ($150). She paid the fine and was therefore released.

"Undeterred, this well-known old woman quickly returned to her criminal activities and stepped up her game by opening a drug outlet where she shelters dangerous individuals," the NDLEA spokesperson emphasized.