NDLEA Arrests Ogun Wanted Drug Kingpin After 12-Year Manhunt, Seizes Drugs Nationwide
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after he allegedly orchestrated the killing of three NDLEA officers during a violent confrontation in Ogun State.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, Jimoh was tracked to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State, on Friday, January 16, 2026, following actionable intelligence. Tactical operatives of the Agency reportedly conducted a coordinated operation that led to his arrest and the recovery of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from the premises.
The NDLEA described the arrest as a major breakthrough, noting that Jimoh had remained on the Agency’s wanted list since June 15, 2014, when he allegedly mobilised armed thugs to attack NDLEA operatives who attempted to arrest him at his enclave. The confrontation led to the killing of three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure, while Jimoh escaped.
The Agency disclosed that operatives had again closed in on him on August 12, 2023, at his residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun State. Although he evaded arrest at the time, officers recovered 139 sacks of skunk weighing 1,922 kilograms from the location. The house, which was allegedly used as a warehouse for illicit drugs, was later forfeited to the Federal Government following court-ordered asset forfeiture proceedings.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives across several states recorded multiple arrests and drug seizures during coordinated raids in the past week.
In Edo State, operatives on January 13 raided the Arokpa Forest in Uzebba town, Owan West Local Government Area, arresting a suspected drug lord, Isihor Edika, 53, and seizing 320 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested on January 16 in the Kaura District for allegedly producing and selling cannabis products online. Officers recovered 2.2 kilograms of skunk and several litres of cannabis oil reportedly produced in her kitchen. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was arrested on January 13 at Abacha Estate with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk.
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In Lagos State, operatives on January 16 intercepted 118.1 kilograms of skunk from two suspects, Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan, in the Fadeyi area of Mushin. On the same day, 116 kilograms of the substance were recovered from a warehouse in the New Market area of Enugu, Enugu State.
Along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway in Delta State, two suspects, Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, were arrested on January 15 while allegedly transporting large quantities of controlled substances, including 410,800 tramadol pills, 84.2 litres of codeine syrup, 82,250 diazepam tablets, 900 swinol tablets and 65 pills of Molly.
In Oyo State, Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, was arrested in Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of “skuchies” and 2.5 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. Another suspect, Rasheed Ajao, 28, was apprehended at Odo-Ona with 9.696 kilograms of assorted cannabis products. A separate raid in the Agbeni area of Ibadan led to the recovery of 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam from a store linked to a suspect identified as Orji Edwin, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on January 13 raided a residential building in the Gamo area of Ilorin, seizing 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.40 kilograms. At the Apapa Port in Lagos, a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies uncovered 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a container.
In Jigawa State, an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, 26, and his alleged accomplice, Ahmed Sani, 32, were arrested in Nassarawa GRA, Ringim Local Government Area, with quantities of skunk and Exol-5 pills. The Agency said Ammani attempted to flee by climbing rooftops and threatened officers with a machete, injuring one operative before he was subdued.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across the country, conducting awareness programmes in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities in states including Kano, Lagos, Benue, Katsina and Niger.
Commending officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest of Jimoh as a “triumph of justice.”
He said the development sent a strong message to drug traffickers and fugitives that time does not erase crime.
“The arrest of Lekan Jimoh closes a painful chapter that began on June 15, 2014. For 12 years, he lived with the blood of our gallant officers on his hands. This is for the families who have waited over a decade for justice,” Marwa said.
He urged NDLEA operatives nationwide to sustain the momentum in the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control through enforcement and public sensitisation.
By PRNigeria
