…arrests 11 suspects, seizes over 4.9 tonnes of illicit drugs across five states
By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, for allegedly masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.
According to a statement signed by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the cleric, who had been on the run for months to evade arrest, was apprehended on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at his church located in Okun Ajah, along Ogombo Road in the Lekki area of Lagos. NDLEA operatives, who had trailed him since morning, moved in to arrest him shortly after he concluded the evening worship service.
Babafemi disclosed that Olasele had fled to Ghana in June after twice evading arrest when operatives began tracking him in connection with the seizure of two shipments of “Ghana Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, traced to him. The first consignment, weighing 200 kilogrammes, was intercepted at Okun Ajah beach on June 4, 2025, while another 700 kilogramme consignment was recovered from his delivery van on July 6, 2025.
In his statement to investigators, the suspect admitted ferrying the illicit consignments from Ghana into Nigeria through the waterways and confirmed that he fled to the West African country to hide after escaping previous arrest attempts.
In a separate operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, August 7, raided an apartment at Kishi House, 11 Layi Ajayi Bembe Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, arresting a suspect, Benjamin Udo Ukoh, and recovering 32 pouches of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 15.63 kilogrammes.
In Nasarawa State, operatives on Saturday, August 9, intercepted a large consignment of skunk cannabis weighing 3,093 kilogrammes from three suspects Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33; and Chekwube Odo, 25, in the New Karu area.
Similarly, in Kano State, NDLEA officers arrested 29-year-old Nura Yahaya at Geza in Kumbotso Local Government Area on Friday, August 8, with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359 kilogrammes. On Wednesday, August 6, another suspect, Umar Adamu Umar, 27, was caught along the Zaria-Kano Road with 9 kilogrammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. On Friday, August 8, operatives also intercepted 20,000 tramadol pills and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection from a suspect, Usman Musa, 30, at Gadar Tamburawa along the same road.
In Gombe State, a raid on an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami on Friday, August 8, led to the arrest of a suspect, Usama Isah, and the seizure of 550,266 pills of opioids, mainly tramadol. The following day, another suspect, Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was arrested along Potiskum Road, Bajoga, with 50,000 tramadol capsules.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, August 6, intercepted a white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number YAB 5522 K at Ewu junction. The vehicle, which was coming from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Isanlu, Kogi State, was found to contain 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets of the same opioid, and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection. The driver, identified as Taiye Jethro, was arrested.
The agency also reported that its commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities during the past week. These included enlightenment lectures at Mind City College, Saki, Oyo State; Gwagwarwa Primary School, Nasarawa Local Government Area, Kano State; officers of the Nigerian Army’s 241 Recce Model Battalion in Nguru, Yobe State; and members of the Engine Grinders Association in Gboko, Benue State. The Ekiti State Command visited the Nigerian Correctional Service in Ado-Ekiti, while the Anambra State Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Commending the officers and men of the Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano, and Edo Commands for their arrests, seizures, and operational efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
