NDLEA launches probe as Cross River commander is discovered lifeless in hotel room

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has opened an investigation into the sudden death of its Cross River State Commander, Chief Narcotics Officer Ogbonna Uzoma, who was found lifeless in his hotel room in Calabar on Thursday.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Friday, said Uzoma, who only assumed duty in the state on August 18, had been scheduled to lead his officers on an operation that morning but failed to appear.

“When his officers didn’t hear from him by 9 a.m., they went to his hotel room with the help of hotel staff. Several knocks and phone calls went unanswered. Attempts to force the door open failed until one of the attendants entered through the ceiling and unlocked it from inside. They then found the Commander’s lifeless body,” Babafemi explained.

The Cross River State Police Command was immediately alerted, with the Commissioner of Police personally visiting the scene. A formal investigation into the cause of death has since commenced.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.), has directed the Zonal Commander for Zone 14, ACGN Mathew Ewah, to relocate to Calabar to assist the police inquiry.

“The Agency stands with the family in this trying moment, and we pray that God will comfort them and grant the departed eternal rest,” Marwa said in a condolence message.

Despite his brief tenure, Uzoma was said to have “hit the ground running,” actively engaging his officers in operational planning. Cross River has remained a major focal point for NDLEA in recent years. In June 2025, the agency destroyed a 30-hectare cannabis farm in the state and made significant drug seizures.