NDLEA arrests fugitive drug kingpin linked to 2014 killing of officers

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has arrested Lekan Jimoh, a wanted drug kingpin known as Kanmo Kanmo, 12 years after the killing of three of its officers.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Jimoh was arrested on Friday at his hideout in Owode, Ogun state, following credible intelligence. Operatives reportedly recovered 69 kilogrammes of skunk and a strain of cannabis from him.

Babafemi said Jimoh had been on the run since June 15, 2014, when he allegedly mobilised armed thugs to attack NDLEA operatives who were trying to arrest him. The attack led to the death of Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two other officers.

The agency said Jimoh escaped during the 2014 incident and remained a fugitive despite sustained efforts to arrest him. It added that operatives raided his residence in Ado Odo, Ogun state, on August 12, 2023, where 139 sacks of skunk weighing 1,922 kilogrammes were recovered, although he escaped again. The property, which served as a drug warehouse, was later forfeited to the federal government after court proceedings.

Describing the arrest as a major breakthrough, the NDLEA said no fugitive would remain beyond the reach of the law.

In separate operations across the country, the agency reported several arrests and seizures. In Edo state, operatives arrested Isihor Edika, 53, during a raid on Arokpa forest in Uzebba town, Owan West LGA, where 320 kilogrammes of skunk and seeds were seized.

In Abuja, Yinka Agboola, 44, was arrested in the Kaura district for allegedly selling drugs online, with 2.2 kilogrammes of skunk and cannabis oil recovered from her home. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was also arrested in the capital with cocaine and skunk.

In Lagos, 118.1 kilogrammes of skunk were seized from Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan in Mushin, while 116 kilogrammes were recovered from a warehouse in Enugu. In Delta state, Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, were arrested along the Onitsha Asaba expressway with tramadol, codeine syrup, diazepam, swinol and Molly.

The agency also reported arrests in Oyo, Kwara and Jigawa states, as well as the seizure of 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a container at Apapa port in Lagos.

Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman and chief executive officer, commended officers for the arrests and seizures, describing Jimoh’s arrest as a triumph of justice.

He said the arrest closed a painful chapter that began in 2014 and was for the families of the three officers who had waited 12 years for justice.