The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned nightclub owners and fun seekers against promoting or attending drug-themed parties.
The warning follows a weekend raid on Proxy Night Club, located on Akin Adesola street, Victoria Island, Lagos, where operatives arrested over 100 attendees and “seized 384.882 kilograms of Canadian Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, alongside other illicit substances.
A statement on Tuesday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the club’s owner, Mike Eze-Nwalie, popularly known as Pretty Mike, and his manager, Joachin Millary, are currently in custody.
He added that all attendees initially arrested were profiled, counselled, and released after preliminary screening, in line with the agency’s standard procedure.
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According to Babafemi, gatherings organised for the consumption or distribution of illicit drugs amount to “acts of criminality” punishable under the NDLEA Act.
“These ‘drug parties’ contravene the explicit provisions of the NDLEA Act and will be treated as serious narcotic offences,” he said.
“In the case of Proxy Night Club, organisers went as far as producing and circulating flyers inviting fun seekers to come together to commit crime — an affront to the law.”
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Babafemi noted that the operation was the result of intelligence received about a planned drug party on Saturday night.
He said undercover operatives were deployed to the club, where they allegedly purchased drugs and monitored activities before executing the raid between 11pm and 3am.
He said the NDLEA was “meticulous and professional” throughout the process, adding that evidence — including video recordings of drug transactions — was properly documented.
“While the two principal suspects, Pretty Mike and his manager, remain in custody, owners of facilities found to be knowingly hosting such illegal activities risk confiscation and forfeiture of their properties to the federal government,” Babafemi added.
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The agency said it would step up surveillance of nightlife venues and apply the full force of the law against those aiding or abetting drug abuse.
The NDLEA also urged parents, religious and community leaders to report similar activities and support the agency’s efforts to curb the growing drug abuse crisis among young Nigerians.
