Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh (aka Kanmo-Kanmo), 12 years after the murder of three officers of the agency.
Kanmo-Kanmo, notorious for drug trafficking, evading arrest and mobilising armed thugs against security agents, was, last Friday, tracked to his hideout in Owode Town, Ogun State by NDLEA tactical teams, following credible intelligence. During the clinical operation, the suspect was found in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
The arrest marked a significant breakthrough in the commitment of NDLEA to ensuring that no fugitive, regardless of how long they evade justice, remains beyond the reach of the law.
As stated in a release on Sunday by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the criminal history of Kanmo-Kanmo is marked by extreme violence and lawlessness.
“As a result, he had, on 15th June 2014, orchestrated a barbaric mob action against a team of NDLEA officers who had attempted to arrest him at his enclave.
“The attack resulted in the cold-blooded murder of three NDLEA officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure and two others, who were killed by armed thugs mobilised by Jimoh.
“While the suspect managed to escape the scene that day, the agency remained resolute in its pursuit of justice for the fallen heroes,” it was added.
In another encounter with Kanmo-Kanmo on 12 August 2023, when NDLEA operatives stormed his residence in Ado-Odo Town, Ogun state, he managed to escape while operatives succeeded in recovering 139 sacks of skunk with a total weight of 1,922 kilograms.
Following assets forfeiture proceedings instituted in court by NDLEA, the house in Ado-Odo, which served as a warehouse for his illicit drug trade, has since been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Edo State, last Tuesday, raided the Arokpa Forest, Uzebba Town, Owan West Local Government Area.
The raid, it was stated led to the arrest of another drug lord, Isihor Edika (53), and seizure of 320kg skunk and seeds.
In the FCT, Abuja, operatives, last Friday, tracked and arrested 44-year-old lady, Yinka Agboola, following intelligence on her online sale of illicit substances.
“At the time of her arrest, 2.2kg skunk and litres of cannabis oil which she produces in her kitchen and sells through online advertisements were recovered from her home at the Kaura district, Abuja,” it was stated.
Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard (30), was last Tuesday, arrested with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk at his 12 Biskira street, Abacha Estate, Abuja home.
While 118.1kg skunk was seized from the duo of Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan at Fadeyi area of Mushin Lagos, last Friday, not less than 116kg of same substance was recovered from a warehouse at new market area of Enugu, Enugu State same day.
Two suspects- Zaharadeen Yahaya (25), and Sanusi Maman (23)- were arrested last Friday by NDLEA operatives along Onitsha -Asaba Expressway, Delta State.
The two suspects were allegedly conveying 410,800 pills of tramadol; 84.2 litres of codeine syrup; 82,250 tablets of diazepam; 900 tabs of swinol and 65 pills of Molly.
In Oyo State, Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi (33), was nabbed last Thursday at Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies, and 2.5kg Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Rasheed Ajao (28) was also caught the same day at Odo-Ona, Ibadan, in possession of 5.4kg Scottish Loud; 1.696kg skunk and 2.5kg Colorado, bringing the total weight to 9.696 kilograms.
In another raid at the Agbeni area of the state capital, 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam were recovered from the store of Orji Edwin, currently at large, last Saturday.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives, last Tuesday, raided a residential building at Gamo area of Ilorin where they seized 42 bags of skunk that weighed 387.40kg.
A total of 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup were discovered in a container at the Apapa port in Lagos during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies, last Friday
An ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani (26), was arrested with various quantities of skunk and exol-5 pills along his accomplice Ahmed Sani, 32, at Nassarawa GRA, Ringim LGA Jigawa State on Saturday.
Before Gaddafi’s arrest, he attempted to escape by climbing the roofs of many houses in his bid to escape. He was armed with a machete which he used to threaten NDLEA operatives and inflicted injury on one of the officers.
Across all commands and formations of the agency nationwide, NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Umar Bin Khathab Islamiyyah School, Kurna, Kano; Tumbey College, Kajola Maya, Ikorodu, Lagos; Anglican Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue; members of Katsina emirate, Katsina; and residents of Maitumbi community, Minna, Niger state, among others.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) has commended the officers and men of the Ogun, Lagos, Apapa, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu and Kwara Commands for the arrests and seizures.
He acknowledged their commitment and enjoined them as well as their colleagues nationwide to maintain the current tempo of their balanced approach to the Agency’s drug control efforts.
He described the arrest of Kanmo-Kanmo as a triumph of justice and a testament to the agency’s long memory, adding that the arrest sends a clear and unambiguous message to all drug barons and fugitives
“You may run, and you may hide for a season, but the long arm of the law will eventually find you.
“The arrest of Lekan Jimoh is particularly significant because it closes a painful chapter that began on June 15, 2014.
“For 12 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,” Marwa said in a tribute to the officers lost over a decade ago.
