The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confirmed the sudden death of its Cross River State Commander, CN Ogbonna Maurice Uzoma, who was found lifeless in a hotel room in Calabar.
According to the agency, news of Uzoma’s death reached the Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), while he was attending a retreat for heads of agencies organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Uzoma had only assumed duty as state commander on August 18, 2025, and was temporarily lodging in a hotel pending permanent accommodation.
In a statement on Friday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the late commander was expected to lead officers for engagements at 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 18. When he could not be reached by 9 a.m., his officers, accompanied by hotel staff, proceeded to his room.
“Attempts by the hotel staff to open or force the door open from outside failed, after which one of the hotel attendants had to go through the ceiling aperture to enter the room and open the door from inside, where they found the Commander’s lifeless body,” Babafemi said.
The Cross River State Police Command was immediately alerted, with the Commissioner of Police personally visiting the scene as investigations into the cause of death commenced.
Babafemi added that the NDLEA Chairman directed ACGN Mathew Ewah, Zonal Commander of Zone 14, to relocate to Calabar to support the probe.
“While commiserating with the family of the deceased senior officer, Marwa said the Agency stands with the family in this trying moment, and prayed that God will comfort them and grant the departed eternal rest,” he noted.
