The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully apprehended a notorious drug baron, Lekan Jimoh, popularly known as Kanmo-Kanmo, ending a 12-year manhunt initiated after his alleged involvement in the brutal killing of three anti-narcotic officers.
The arrest marks a major breakthrough for the agency, which had been on the trail of the suspect since 2014.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, tactical teams tracked the fugitive to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State, on Friday, January 16, 2026. During the operation, Jimoh was found in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk.
The agency detailed Jimoh’s history of violence and evasion, specifically citing a June 15, 2014 incident where he allegedly mobilized armed thugs to attack an NDLEA team attempting to arrest him.
The mob action resulted in the death of three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure. While Jimoh escaped the scene, the agency maintained its pursuit.
He narrowly evaded capture again in August 2023 when operatives raided his residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun State, recovering 1,922 kilograms of skunk. The property, which served as a warehouse, has since been forfeited to the Federal Government.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest as a triumph of justice and a warning to fugitives that the law has a long memory.
Marwa dedicated the arrest to the families of the fallen officers, stating that the agency does not forget the sacrifices of those who died in the line of duty.
Beyond the high-profile capture of Jimoh, the NDLEA recorded significant successes across several states in synchronized raids. In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives arrested a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, for the online sale of illicit substances. She was apprehended at her home in the Kaura district with 2.2kg of skunk and cannabis oil produced in her kitchen. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, was arrested in the Abacha Estate area of Abuja with cocaine and skunk.
Operations in Edo State led to the arrest of drug lord Isihor Edika in the Arokpa forest, resulting in the seizure of 320kg of skunk. Meanwhile, in Delta State, operatives intercepted two suspects, Zaharadeen Yahaya and Sanusi Maman, along the Onitsha-Asaba expressway conveying a massive consignment of opioids, including over 410,000 pills of tramadol and various quantities of codeine and diazepam.
The agency’s dragnet also extended to the South-West, where 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup were discovered in a container at the Apapa port in Lagos during a joint examination with Customs. In Oyo State, multiple raids in Ibadan led to the arrest of suspects with quantities of Scottish Loud, Colorado and Skuchies, while a raid in Ilorin, Kwara State, yielded 387.4kg of skunk.
In a dramatic encounter in Jigawa State, an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, attempted to evade arrest by jumping across rooftops in the Nassarawa GRA area.
Ammani, who was armed with a machete and inflicted injury on an operative, was eventually subdued and arrested alongside an accomplice.
General Marwa commended the officers across the Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu, and Kwara commands for their vigilance and urged them to maintain the intensity of their operations.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools and communities nationwide.