A 34-year-old Ugandan, Farida Nansubuga, has been arrested with 87 cocaine wraps in her private part at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.
The woman, who was apprehended by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), was said to have come to Nigeria with members of her church for spiritual renewal at a prayer session in Lagos.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, 2026, said when it was time to go home, Nansubuga chose a different path.
Babafemi said while the rest of her delegation flew back to Uganda, she stayed behind, not to pray more, but to pick up a consignment of cocaine, which she hid in her private part in a bid to smuggle it into her country.
Babafemi noted that the plan was foiled on Tuesday, November 3, when NDLEA operatives intercepted the woman at the screening point of Terminal 2 during a joint passenger screening exercise with aviation security personnel.
The NDLEA spokesman said the woman was due to board an Ugandan airline flight to her home country, adding that a body search on her pointed to a substance concealed around her pelvic region, after which she was taken to a designated private search room for a secondary search.
He stated: “This led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.150 kilograms, strapped around her pelvic region and held in place beneath two layers of underwear.
“During preliminary interview, the suspect, said she arrived in Nigeria on 29th October 2026 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos.
“She claimed that after the prayer session, the other members of her delegation returned to Uganda while she stayed back to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend, simply identified as Joy, who resides in Uganda.
“According to her, Joy directed her to a contact in Nigeria who arranged a vehicle to bring her to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.
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“It was there, she said, that the man handed her the drug and instructed her to hide it beneath her clothing to beat security screening at the airport. She claimed no definite fee was agreed for the trip, but that she expected to be paid not less than $1,000 on successful delivery.”
Commending the anti-narcotic officers for the seizures and arrests, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), described the case of the Ugandan woman as a reminder that drug cartels will stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit couriers for their deadly trade.
Marwa urged NDLEA officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts.
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