The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has released a statement on the demise of Maurice Ogbonna, Cross River state commander found dead in hotel room.
The commander was found dead on Thursday, in a hotel room in Calabar, as his colleagues arrived to pick him up for an assignment.
In a statement released on Friday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Ogbonna’s death was brought to the attention of Buba Marwa, the agency’s chairman, in Maiduguri, Borno state, where he was attending a retreat organised by the ministry of justice for heads of agencies.
Babafemi said the late commander was recently appointed and posted to take over leadership of the agency’s Cross River command.
“He resumed on 18th August 2025 and took a temporary accommodation in a hotel in Calabar pending when he settles into a befitting accommodation,” the statement reads.
“CN Ogbonna has been up and doing at his new Command and was billed to lead his officers on some scheduled engagements at 10am on Thursday 18th September 2025 but when his officers didn’t hear from him by 9am, they went to his hotel room in company of the hotel staff while several knocks at his door and calls to his telephone line went unanswered.
“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.
“The Police Command in the state was promptly alerted, after which the Commissioner of Police personally visited the scene, while the police continue with the investigation of the cause of death.”
The NDLEA spokesperson said to assist the police investigation, Marwa has directed Mathew Ewah, the zonal commander, zone 14 command of NDLEA, to relocate to Calabar.
“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,” the statement added.
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