NDLEA Arrests Wanted Drug Kingpin 12 Years After Killing Three Officers

By: Israel Adeleke

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered that operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after his alleged involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers during a violent confrontation in Ogun State.

OTN News further reports as gathered that Jimoh was arrested on Friday, January 16, 2026, in Owode town, Ogun State, following intelligence-led operations by tactical teams of the agency.

A search of his hideout led to the recovery of 69 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Jimoh had been on the agency’s wanted list since June 15, 2014.

According to him, the suspect allegedly mobilised armed thugs to attack NDLEA operatives who attempted to arrest him at his enclave more than a decade ago.

Babafemi said Jimoh was notorious for drug trafficking, repeated evasion of arrest and organising violent attacks against security personnel.

He recalled that during the 2014 incident, three NDLEA officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two others, were brutally killed by armed thugs allegedly mobilised by the suspect, who escaped at the time.

He noted that the arrest marked a major breakthrough and reaffirmed the agency’s resolve to ensure that fugitives do not escape justice, regardless of how long they remain at large.

The NDLEA spokesman further recalled that in a related operation on August 12, 2023, operatives raided Jimoh’s residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun State, where 139 sacks of skunk weighing about 1,922 kilograms were recovered. Although the suspect again escaped arrest during that raid, the property, which was being used as a drug warehouse, was subsequently forfeited to the Federal Government after court proceedings.

Babafemi also highlighted other major arrests and seizures recorded by the agency across the country in recent operations. In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, January 13, raided Arokpa forest in Uzebba town, Owan West Local Government Area, where a 53-year-old suspect, Isihor Edika, was arrested and 320 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds were seized.

In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested in the Kaura District for the alleged online sale of illicit drugs. Items recovered from her residence included 2.2 kilograms of skunk and quantities of cannabis oil. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was also arrested at his residence in Abacha Estate with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk.

In Lagos State, NDLEA officers seized 118.1 kilograms of skunk from two suspects, Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan, at Fadeyi in Mushin on Friday, January 16. On the same day, 116 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a warehouse located at 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 Thursday, January 15, while transporting large quantities of tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam, swinol and Molly.

In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, at Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies and 2.5 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. Another suspect, Rasheed Ajao, 28, was arrested at Odo-Ona, Ibadan, with various quantities of illicit drugs.

In a separate raid at the Agbeni area of Ibadan, 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam were recovered from a store belonging to a suspect currently at large.

In Kwara State, NDLEA officers raided a residence at the Gamo area of Ilorin on Tuesday, January 13, where 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.40 kilograms were seized.

In Jigawa State, an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, 26, and his accomplice, Ahmed Sani, 32, were arrested on Saturday, January 17, at Nassarawa GRA in Ringim Local Government Area with quantities of skunk and exol-5 pills.

Ammani reportedly attempted to escape during the operation and injured an NDLEA officer in the process.

Commending the operatives involved, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.), praised officers across Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory, Enugu and Kwara states for their professionalism and dedication.

He described the arrest of Lekan Jimoh as a triumph of justice and a clear demonstration of the agency’s determination to bring all drug traffickers and fugitives to book, stressing that no offender remains beyond the reach of the law.