Three operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) are currently receiving treatment after sustaining gunshot wounds during a raid on a suspected drug location in the Jahi area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday night, was confirmed in a statement issued by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
According to the statement, the operatives had acted on intelligence and surveillance reports, targeting an uncompleted building in the NNPC area of Jahi. During the operation, 74 bottles of codeine, 10 litres of codeine syrup, 48 grams of tramadol (225mg), 4.9 kilograms of skunk—a potent strain of cannabis—as well as five Android phones were recovered by the officers.
As the NDLEA team exited the scene, they came under gunfire from unknown assailants. Three officers were hit: one in the rib, and two others in the back and leg.
The wounded personnel were initially stabilised at the Police Clinic in Garki Area 1 before being transferred to the National Hospital in Abuja for further treatment.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), expressed appreciation to the staff of the Police Clinic for their prompt medical response. He also extended his thanks to the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, whom he personally contacted, for taking over the care of the officers.
Although he is in Kano for official matters, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) reached out to the injured officers via phone, expressing his hopes for their swift recovery. He also guaranteed them that the agency would utilize all available resources and collaborate with other law enforcement bodies to track down and apprehend those responsible for the attack.