45-Year-Old Man Dies After Alleged Torture In NDLEA Custody

A 45-year-old man, Ifeanyi Ugwu, has d+ed after allegedly being tortured while in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Enugu State, with his family accusing the agency of frustrating efforts to conduct an autopsy.

Accord to reports, Ugwu was arrested in Ogbute community on April 20, 2026, during a market raid and accused of possessing 1kg of cannabis sativa. He was allegedly held for months without trial and later died in custody after reported severe beatings.

A relative said: “He was arrested by men of the NDLEA in Enugu, and after beating him, they threw him inside the cell until he began to vomit blood,” a relative of the deceased man told SaharaReporters.

“They arrested him with Indian h£mp and kept him at their station for months without letting the family know. They beat him seriously and injured his heart, then threw him in a cell until he began to vomit blood. That’s when they started taking him from hospital to hospital until he sl¥mped and died,” a source said.

“After he was dead, that was when they started looking for his family. They never told us he was dead until we went to the 82 Division in Enugu. That was when we found out he was dead.”

“They lied to us, saying he had tuberculosis and was coughing up blood. He wasn’t alive to tell his own side of the story. They beat him badly. If you look at the pictures of his corpse, you can see how much they beat him,” the source added.

“All efforts by the family to have an autopsy carried out were thwarted by the NDLEA.”

NDLEA Enugu Commander Owoputi Adekunle is yet to respond to messages, text, or calls concerning the incident.