The people of Cross River woke up to shocking news on Thursday morning as the state Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr. Morrison Ogbonna, was found dead in his hotel room in Calabar.
According to sources, Ogbonna’s officers had gone to pick him up for an official assignment when they noticed he was not responding to knocks on his door. The hotel management was alerted, and upon opening the room, the commander was discovered lifeless.
Ogbonna was only transferred to Cross River in August 2025, replacing Mrs. Rachel Umebuali, who was redeployed to another state. His sudden death has thrown both his colleagues and the wider security community into mourning.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Cross River State Police Command, SP Irene Ugbo-Obase, said the cause of death is yet to be determined:
“I can confirm to you that it is true, but what led to the death is what I can’t readily tell you.”
As at the time of filing this report, NDLEA headquarters has not released an official statement on the matter. Police investigations are ongoing, while the hotel where the incident occurred has also come under scrutiny.
The sudden death raises questions in security circles, especially given the sensitive nature of the drug war in Cross River, a state with active smuggling routes across the Cameroon border.
