Three personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been hospitalised with gunshot wounds following a violent attack during a raid operation in Abuja on Thursday night.
The officers were ambushed by unknown gunmen in the Jahi area of the Federal Capital Territory after raiding an uncompleted building at the NNPC section of the district.
Acting on intelligence, the NDLEA operatives had stormed the premises, recovering 74 bottles of codeine, 10 litres of codeine syrup, 48 grams of tramadol 225mg, 4.9 kilograms of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis), and five Android phones.
As they attempted to exit the location, the operatives came under heavy gunfire, resulting in injuries to three officers—one shot in the rib and the other two wounded in the back and leg.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, confirmed in a statement on Friday that the injured officers were initially treated at the Police Clinic in Garki Area 1 before being transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja, for advanced medical care.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), expressed gratitude to the medical teams attending to the injured men. He personally contacted the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital to ensure adequate treatment and also spoke with the officers by phone to wish them a speedy recovery.