A notorious drug trafficker, Lekan Jimoh, alias Kanmo-Kanmo, has finally been arrested 12 years after he allegedly masterminded the killing of three operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Jimoh was picked up on Friday, January 16, 2026, during a tactical raid in Owode, Ogun State, after years of evading capture.
The NDLEA said 69 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from the hideout during the sting operation.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Jimoh had been on the run since June 15, 2014, when he allegedly mobilised armed hoodlums who hacked three NDLEA officers to death while resisting arrest.
“Following credible intelligence, the agency’s tactical teams tracked and arrested the fugitive in Owode,” Babafemi said, describing the operation as a major victory for law enforcement.
He added that Jimoh, notorious for drug trafficking and mobilising violent gangs against security personnel, confessed upon arrest and will face prosecution.
According to Babafemi, the suspect narrowly escaped arrest in August 2023 when NDLEA operatives raided his Ado-Odo residence and seized 1,922 kilogrammes of skunk stored in a warehouse later forfeited to the Federal Government.
Raids Across Nine States
The agency disclosed further breakthroughs across the country in recent days.
In Edo State, operatives stormed Arokpa forest in Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, arresting 53-year-old Isihor Edika and seizing 320 kilogrammes of skunk and cannabis seeds.
A 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested in Abuja for allegedly selling illicit drugs online.
Recovered from her Kaura District home were 2.2 kilogrammes of skunk and cannabis oil which she reportedly processed in her kitchen.
Another suspect, Tordue Pius, 30, was arrested with cocaine and other substances at his Abacha Estate residence.
In Lagos, NDLEA said officers confiscated 118.1 kilogrammes of skunk from two suspects, Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan, in Mushin, while a separate raid in Enugu yielded 116 kilogrammes of cannabis from a warehouse in New Market.
Along the Onitsha–Asaba expressway, Delta State operatives intercepted two young men transporting over 410,000 tramadol tablets, alongside codeine syrup, diazepam, swinol and Molly pills.
Multiple arrests were also made in Oyo State where suspects were found with skunk, Colorado, Scottish Loud and thousands of opioid pills, while 387.4 kilogrammes of cannabis were seized in Ilorin during a raid on a residence in the Gamo area.
In Jigawa State, two suspects including an ex-convict, were arrested with skunk and exol-5 tablets.
One of them was reported to have injured an officer while attempting to escape.
Justice At Last, Says Marwa
NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd.), hailed the arrest of Jimoh as “a triumph of justice” and a reminder that fugitives cannot outrun the law forever.
“You may hide for a while, but the long arm of justice will always catch up,” he said.
“For 12 years, this individual believed the murder of our gallant officers would go unpunished.
Today marks the closure of that painful chapter.”
Marwa applauded NDLEA personnel in Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Abuja, Oyo, Jigawa, Enugu and Kwara for their efforts and urged them to sustain the momentum in dismantling drug networks.
Jimoh’s arrest, the NDLEA added, underscores its renewed drive to dismantle drug cartels, disrupt supply chains and bring fugitives tied to attacks on security agents before the courts.