Abuja, Jan. 18, 2026 . — Operatives of thei National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as Kanmo-kanmo, 12 years after he allegedly masterminded the killing of three NDLEA officers.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that Jimoh was arrested on Friday, Jan. 16, in Owode town, Ogun, following credible intelligence.
Babafemi said the suspect was found with 69 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, during the operation.
He said Jimoh had been on the agency’s wanted list since June 15, 2014, when he allegedly mobilised armed thugs to attack NDLEA operatives attempting to arrest him, leading to the death of three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure.
According to him, the suspect escaped at the time but the agency sustained its manhunt.
Babafemi recalled that NDLEA operatives again stormed Jimoh’s residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun, on Aug. 12, 2023, where 139 sacks of skunk weighing 1,922kg were recovered, though the suspect escaped.
He added that the house, which served as a warehouse for the illicit drugs, was later forfeited to the Federal Government after court proceedings.
In a related development, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives in Edo, on Jan. 13, raided the Arokpa forest in Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, arresting a drug lord, Isihor Edika, 53, and seizing 320kg of skunk and seeds.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, he said a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested on Jan. 16 for allegedly selling illicit drugs online.
Babafemi said 2.2kg of skunk and litres of cannabis oil produced in her kitchen were recovered from her residence in Kaura District.
Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was arrested on Jan. 13 at Abacha Estate, Abuja, with 148.3 grammes of cocaine and skunk, he added.
In Lagos, Babafemi said 118.1kg of skunk was seized from Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan at Fadeyi, Mushin, on Jan. 16, while 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup were intercepted at Apapa Port during a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
He said NDLEA operatives in Enugu recovered 116kg of skunk from a warehouse at the New Market area on the same day.
According to him, two suspects, Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, were arrested along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway in Delta on Jan. 15 with large consignments of tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam, swinol and molly.
Babafemi said in Oyo, Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, was arrested in Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies and 2.5kg of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, while Rasheed Ajao, 28, was arrested at Odo-Ona with 9.696kg of assorted cannabis products.
He added that 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam were also recovered from a store in the Agbeni area of Ibadan.
In Kwara, he said operatives seized 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.4kg from a residence in the Gamo area of Ilorin on Jan. 13.
Babafemi further said an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, 26, and his accomplice, Ahmed Sani, 32, were arrested in Ringim, Jigawa, with skunk and exol-5 pills, noting that Ammani attempted to escape and injured an NDLEA officer with a machete.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations across Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu and Kwara.
Marwa described Jimoh’s arrest as “a triumph of justice,” saying it demonstrated that fugitives could evade the law only temporarily.
“You may run and hide for a season, but the long arm of the law will eventually find you,” he said.
He added that the arrest was in honour of the officers killed in 2014 and a reassurance to their families that justice would prevail.
