NDLEA Arrests Notorious Drug Kingpin Kanmo-Kanmo After 12-Year Manhunt
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has captured Lekan Jimoh, popularly called “Kanmo-Kanmo,” a feared drug baron who had eluded authorities for more than a decade over the killing of three NDLEA officers. According to the agency, Jimoh was arrested on Friday after operatives traced him to a hideout in Owode, Ogun State. Tactical teams moved in and took him into custody, bringing to an end a 12-year pursuit marked by violence, escapes, and repeated clashes with law enforcement. The arrest was disclosed on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who said officers recovered 69 kilograms of skunk, a cannabis variant, from the suspect during the operation. Jimoh has long been linked to large-scale drug trafficking and was known for mobilising armed thugs to resist arrest. His name became infamous on June 15, 2014, when NDLEA operatives attempting to apprehend him were attacked by a mob allegedly organised by him. The incident led to the deaths of three officers, including Rabiu Usman Kazaure. Although Jimoh escaped at the time, the agency vowed to hunt him down. He again slipped through NDLEA’s dragnet on August 12, 2023, when operatives stormed his residence in Ado-Odo, Ogun State. While he managed to flee, officers recovered 139 sacks of skunk weighing about 1,922 kilograms. The property, said to have been used as a storage facility for drugs, was later forfeited to the Federal Government following court proceedings. The agency described his eventual arrest as a major milestone, stressing that fugitives would be pursued no matter how long it takes. Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives recorded several other arrests and seizures nationwide. In Edo State, officers raided the Arokpa forest in Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, arresting 53-year-old Isihor Edika and confiscating 320 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds. In Abuja, a 44-year-old woman, Yinka Agboola, was arrested over the online sale of illicit drugs. A search of her home in the Kaura area led to the recovery of 2.2 kilograms of skunk and quantities of cannabis oil allegedly produced in her kitchen. Another suspect, Tordue Pius Richard, 30, was arrested at his residence in Abacha Estate with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk. In Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 118.1 kilograms of skunk from Dauda Kareem and Saheed Obisesan in the Fadeyi area of Mushin, while 116 kilograms of the same substance were recovered from a warehouse at the New Market area of Enugu State. Along the Onitsha–Asaba expressway in Delta State, two suspects, Zaharadeen Yahaya, 25, and Sanusi Maman, 23, were intercepted while transporting large quantities of controlled substances, including tramadol pills, codeine syrup, diazepam, swinol, and molly. In Oyo State, Adetunji Ahmed Abayomi, 33, was arrested at Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies and 2.5 kilograms of colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain. Another suspect, Rasheed Ajao, 28, was also caught in Ibadan with assorted cannabis products weighing a total of 9.696 kilograms. In a separate raid at Agbeni, officers recovered over 52,000 pills of tramadol and bromazepam from a store belonging to Orji Edwin, who is currently at large. In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives raided a residential building in the Gamo area of Ilorin, seizing 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.40 kilograms. At the Apapa Port in Lagos, a joint operation involving NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies uncovered 157,519 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a container. In Jigawa State, an ex-convict, Gaddafi Ammani, 26, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Ahmed Sani, 32, at Nassarawa GRA, Ringim Local Government Area. Ammani reportedly attempted to escape by jumping across rooftops and threatened officers with a machete, injuring one operative before he was overpowered. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised officers across various commands for their efforts, urging them to sustain the momentum in the agency’s fight against drug trafficking. He described Jimoh’s arrest as a clear signal to drug lords and fugitives that justice may be delayed but will not be denied.
