…Confiscates 546,445 Pills Of Cannabis Variants, Cocaine, Opioids, Others
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested long-wanted drug trafficker Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as “Kanmo-kanmo,” in Owode town, Ogun State, ending a 12-year manhunt linked to the killing of three NDLEA officers.
NDLEA operatives tracked Jimoh to his hideout on Friday, January 16, 2026, following sustained intelligence gathering. During the operation, he allegedly mobilised armed thugs in an attempt to resist arrest.
Officers subdued him and recovered 69 kilograms of skunk, a cannabis strain, from his possession.
Investigations traced Jimoh’s criminal activities to a long history of violent resistance against law-enforcement agencies. On June 15, 2014, NDLEA officers attempted to arrest him at his enclave, but the operation degenerated into a mob attack allegedly coordinated by Jimoh.
The attack led to the killing of three NDLEA officers, including “Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two others, who were killed by armed thugs” allegedly mobilised by Jimoh.
He escaped arrest during the incident, prompting a prolonged manhunt by the agency.
NDLEA operatives encountered Jimoh again on August 12, 2023, when they stormed his residence in Ado-Odo town, Ogun State. Although he escaped during that operation, officers recovered 139 sacks of skunk weighing a total of 1,922 kilograms.
The agency later initiated asset forfeiture proceedings against the property, which investigations identified as a warehouse for illicit drugs.
The court subsequently ordered the house forfeited to the Federal Government.
Commenting on Jimoh’s arrest, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), described it as a significant development in the agency’s pursuit of justice.
“You may run, and you may hide for a season, but the long arm of the law will eventually find you,” Marwa said.
He said the arrest carried particular significance because it closed a case connected to the deaths of NDLEA officers in 2014.
“The arrest of Lekan Jimoh is particularly significant because it closes a painful chapter that began on June 15, 2014. For twelve years, this individual lived with the blood of our gallant officers—Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two others—on his hands.
“He mistakenly thought that time had erased his crimes. Today, we have proven that the NDLEA does not forget its own.
“We do not forget the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives in the service of our fatherland. This arrest is for the families of those three officers who have waited 12 years for justice,” Marwa said.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives across several states carried out coordinated operations between January 13 and January 17, 2026, leading to the arrest of 12 suspects in Edo, Lagos, Delta, Oyo, Enugu, Kwara, Jigawa, and the Federal Capital Territory.
The agency reported that no cash recovery was made during the operations. Officers, however, confiscated at least 13 categories of illicit drugs, including cannabis variants, cocaine, opioids, synthetic pills, and codeine-based substances.
According to the NDLEA, officers recovered at least 546,445 pills, excluding quantities not specified.
On Tuesday, January 13, NDLEA operatives raided Arokpa forest in Uzebba town, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, arresting 53-year-old Isihor Edika. Officers dismantled his base of operation and seized 320 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds.
On the same day, operatives in Kwara State stormed a residential building in the Gamo area of Ilorin, where they recovered 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.40 kilograms.
Also on January 13, NDLEA officers arrested 30-year-old Tordue Pius Richard at his residence on Biskira Street, Abacha Estate, Abuja. A search of the premises led to the recovery of 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk.
Operations intensified on Thursday, January 15, along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway in Delta State, where NDLEA operatives intercepted 25-year-old Zaharadeen Yahaya and 23-year-old Sanusi Maman.
Officers recovered large quantities of pharmaceuticals, including 410,800 tramadol pills, 82,250 diazepam tablets, 900 swinol tablets, 65 Molly pills, and 84.2 litres of codeine syrup.
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested 33-year-old Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi at Moniya, Ibadan, recovering 321 litres of skuchies and 2.5 kilograms of Colorado.
The same day, officers apprehended 28-year-old Rasheed Ajao at Odo-Ona, Ibadan, with cannabis variants weighing a total of 9.696 kilograms.
On Friday, January 16, NDLEA operatives in Mushin, Lagos, arrested Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan, seizing 118.1 kilograms of skunk.
That same day, officers recovered another 116 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in the New Market area of Enugu.
Also on January 16, a joint examination at the Apapa Port, Lagos, uncovered 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a container, following collaboration between NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives arrested 44-year-old Yinka Agboola after tracking her alleged involvement in online drug distribution. A search of her residence in the Kaura District led to the recovery of 2.2 kilograms of skunk and locally produced cannabis oil.
The final arrests occurred on Saturday, January 17, in Jigawa State, where NDLEA operatives apprehended 26-year-old Gaddafi Ammani, an ex-convict, alongside 32-year-old Ahmed Sani at Nassarawa GRA, Ringim Local Government Area.
During the operation, Gaddafi attempted to escape by moving across rooftops, threatened officers with a machete, and injured one operative before being subdued.
Officers recovered various quantities of skunk and Exol-5 pills.
Marwa commended NDLEA commands involved in the operations in Ogun, Lagos, Apapa, Edo, Delta, Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory, Enugu, and Kwara, urging officers nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
