By Micah Jonah
January 18, 2026
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Lekan Jimoh, alias “Kanmo-Kanmo”, a long-wanted drug kingpin, ending a 12-year manhunt following his involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers in 2014.
Jimoh, notorious for drug trafficking and mobilizing armed thugs against security agents, was apprehended on January 16, 2026, at his hideout in Owode, Ogun State. Officers recovered 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, during the operation.
Jimoh’s criminal record includes orchestrating the killing of NDLEA officers Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two colleagues on June 15, 2014. He previously escaped a raid in August 2023 in Ado-Odo, Ogun State, where operatives recovered 1,922 kilograms of skunk. The house used as his warehouse has since been forfeited to the Federal Government.
Additional operations across Nigeria led to multiple arrests and seizures:
Edo State: Isihor Edika, 53, arrested with 320kg of skunk and seeds in Arokpa Forest, Uzebba.
Abuja: Yinka Agboola, 44, detained with 2.2kg skunk and cannabis oil; Tordue Pius Richard, 30, held with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk.
Lagos: Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan seized with 118.1kg skunk.
Enugu: 116kg skunk recovered from a warehouse at New Market.
Delta: Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, arrested with 410,800 tramadol pills, 84.2 litres of codeine syrup, 82,250 diazepam tablets, 900 swinol tabs, and 65 Molly pills.
Oyo State: Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, seized with 321 litres skuchies and 2.5kg Colorado; Rasheed Ajao, 28, with 9.696kg of cannabis strains; Orji Edwin, at large, had 52,430 tramadol and bromazepam pills recovered from his store.
Kwara State: 387.40kg skunk seized in Ilorin; 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup intercepted at Apapa port.
Jigawa State: Gaddafi Ammani, 26, arrested with accomplice Ahmed Sani, 32, during a raid in Nassarawa GRA, Ringim LGA.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest of “Kanmo-Kanmo” as a triumph of justice and a message to all drug fugitives that no one is beyond the reach of the law. He also commended operatives across Ogun, Lagos, Apapa, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu, and Kwara states for their dedication.
Marwa added: “The arrest of Lekan Jimoh is particularly significant because it closes a painful chapter that began on June 15, 2014.
Today, we have proven that the NDLEA does not forget its own. This arrest is for the families of the officers who waited 12 years for justice.”
