By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has finally brought to justice one of Nigeria’s most wanted drug kingpins, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as “Kanmo-Kanmo”, ending a 12-year manhunt that followed the gruesome murder of three NDLEA officers during an attempted arrest in 2014.
Jimoh, a notorious drug trafficker known for mobilising armed thugs to resist law enforcement and for repeatedly evading arrest, was apprehended on Friday, January 16, 2026, in Owode town, Ogun State, following what the Agency described as credible intelligence and a carefully executed tactical operation. Operatives who stormed his hideout recovered 69 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, in his possession.
The arrest was confirmed in an official statement signed by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, who described the operation as a major breakthrough and a powerful signal that no fugitive remains beyond the reach of the law, regardless of how long they evade justice.
Jimoh’s name has remained etched in the institutional memory of the NDLEA due to his violent criminal past. On June 15, 2014, he orchestrated a savage mob attack on NDLEA officers who had attempted to arrest him at his enclave. The ambush, carried out by armed thugs he mobilised, led to the cold-blooded killing of three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure. While Jimoh escaped on that fateful day, the Agency vowed that justice would eventually be served.
That resolve endured over the years. In another major encounter on August 12, 2023, NDLEA operatives raided his residence in Ado-Odo town, Ogun State. Although Jimoh once again evaded arrest, operatives recovered 139 sacks of skunk weighing a total of 1,922 kilograms. The property, which served as a warehouse for his illicit drug operations, was subsequently subjected to forfeiture proceedings and has since been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Beyond the arrest of Kanmo-Kanmo, the past week also witnessed sweeping enforcement operations across several states, underscoring the Agency’s intensified nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, January 13, raided the Arokpa forest in Uzebba town, Owan West Local Government Area, where they arrested another suspected drug lord, Isihor Edika, 53, and seized 320 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds. In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested on Friday, January 16, following intelligence reports that she was selling illicit drugs online. A search of her residence in the Kaura district led to the recovery of 2.2 kilograms of skunk and several litres of cannabis oil, which she allegedly produced in her kitchen and advertised for sale online. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was arrested the same week at his Abacha Estate residence with cocaine and skunk weighing 148.3 grams.
In Lagos, operatives seized 118.1 kilograms of skunk from Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan in the Fadeyi area of Mushin on Friday, January 16. On the same day, 116 kilograms of the same substance were recovered from a warehouse located in the New Market area of Enugu, Enugu State.
A major pharmaceutical drug haul was recorded in Delta State, where NDLEA operatives on Thursday, January 15, arrested Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway. Recovered from them were 410,800 pills of tramadol, 84.2 litres of codeine syrup, 82,250 tablets of diazepam, 900 tablets of swinol and 65 pills of Molly.
Oyo State also featured prominently in the week’s operations. In Moniya, Ibadan, Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, was arrested on Thursday, January 15, with 321 litres of skuchies and 2.5 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. The same day, Rasheed Ajao, 28, was apprehended at Odo-Ona, Ibadan, with assorted cannabis strains weighing a total of 9.696 kilograms. In a separate raid at the Agbeni area of Ibadan on Saturday, January 17, operatives recovered 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam from a store belonging to Orji Edwin, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, January 13, raided a residential building in the Gamo area of Ilorin, where they seized 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.4 kilograms. At the Apapa Port in Lagos, a joint examination of a container by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies on Friday, January 16, led to the discovery of 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a shipment.
In Jigawa State, an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, 26, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Ahmed Sani, 32, at Nassarawa GRA, Ringim Local Government Area, on Saturday, January 17. Gaddafi reportedly attempted to escape by climbing rooftops and threatening NDLEA operatives with a machete, injuring one officer before he was eventually subdued. Various quantities of skunk and exol-5 pills were recovered from the suspects.
Alongside enforcement, NDLEA Commands nationwide sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns, reaching schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities. Enlightenment lectures were delivered at institutions and communities including Umar Bin Khathab Islamiyyah School in Kano, Tumbey College in Ikorodu, Anglican Secondary School in Makurdi, members of the Katsina Emirate, and residents of Maitumbi community in Minna, among others.
Commending officers and men of the Ogun, Lagos, Apapa, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu and Kwara Commands for their professionalism and dedication, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest of Kanmo-Kanmo as a triumph of justice and a powerful reminder of the Agency’s resolve.
“You may run, and you may hide for a season, but the long arm of the law will eventually find you,” Marwa declared.
He added that the arrest carried deep emotional and institutional significance, as it finally closed a painful chapter that began more than a decade ago. “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,” he said.
Marwa urged NDLEA personnel across the country to sustain the current momentum, maintaining a balanced approach that combines aggressive enforcement with sustained drug abuse prevention and public enlightenment.
