A 12-year manhunt ends as NDLEA finally arrests a notorious drug kingpin linked to the killing of three officers. How it happened will shock you. Click to read full story.
By All Facts Newspaper
After 12 years of evasion, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has finally arrested Lekan Jimoh, alias Kanmo-Kanmo, a notorious drug kingpin who allegedly masterminded the killing of three NDLEA officers during a failed arrest operation in 2014.
Jimoh was captured on Friday, January 16, 2026, in Owode, Ogun State, following weeks of intelligence-led surveillance and tactical tracking by NDLEA special operations teams.
His arrest brings to a close one of the most painful chapters in the agency’s history — a case that symbolised both sacrifice and resilience in Nigeria’s fight against drug cartels.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Jimoh had been on the agency’s most-wanted list since June 15, 2014, when he mobilised armed thugs to violently attack NDLEA operatives who attempted to arrest him at his drug enclave.
Three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure, were brutally killed in the ambush, while Jimoh vanished into hiding, building layers of protection around his criminal network for more than a decade.
On Friday, that shield collapsed.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA tactical units stormed his hideout in Owode, where they recovered 69 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, confirming he was still deeply active in the drug trade.
Babafemi revealed that NDLEA operatives had earlier raided Jimoh’s residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun State, in August 2023, where they discovered 139 sacks of skunk weighing 1,922kg, stored in a warehouse linked to the fugitive.
Although Jimoh escaped at the time, the property was later forfeited to the Federal Government, marking a major blow to his network and tightening the noose around him.
“This arrest is a breakthrough,” Babafemi said. “No fugitive is beyond the reach of the law — no matter how long it takes.”
Jimoh’s arrest came as part of a nationwide crackdown that saw massive seizures and arrests across several states:
Edo State: 320kg of skunk seized in Arokpa forest, Uzebba, with the arrest of 53-year-old Isihor Edika.
Abuja: A 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested for allegedly running an online drug trade; NDLEA recovered cannabis oil produced in her kitchen.
Lagos: 234kg of skunk seized in Mushin and Fadeyi areas.
Enugu: 116kg of skunk recovered from a warehouse at New Market.
Delta State: Two suspects intercepted with over 410,800 tramadol pills and other controlled substances along Onitsha–Asaba Expressway.
Oyo State: More than 52,000 tramadol and bromazepam pills recovered in Ibadan.
Kwara State: 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.4kg seized in Ilorin.
Jigawa State: Two suspects arrested with skunk and exol-5 pills; one injured an NDLEA officer while attempting to escape.
The NDLEA says the arrest of Kanmo-Kanmo is proof that justice may delay, but it never forgets. For families of the fallen officers, the capture offers long-awaited closure — and for drug cartels, a clear warning: there is no safe hiding place in Nigeria anymore.
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