Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully apprehended a long-wanted drug kingpin, ending a 12-year manhunt following his involvement in the brutal killing of three NDLEA officers.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the suspect “is notorious for drug trafficking, evading arrest and mobilising armed thugs against security agents”.
He said that the suspect was on Friday, January 16 tracked to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State by tactical teams of the agency following credible intelligence.
He also said that during the clinical operation, the suspect was found in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
He added that the arrest marked a significant breakthrough in the agency’s commitment to ensuring that no fugitive, regardless of how long they evaded justice, remained beyond the reach of the law.
“The suspect’s criminal history is marked by extreme violence and lawlessness.
“As a result, he had on June 15, 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,” he said.
In another encounter with the suspect on August 12, 2023, when NDLEA operatives stormed his residence in Ado-Odo town, Ogun State, he managed to escape.
Babafemi, however, said that the operatives succeeded in recovering 139 sacks of skunk with a total weight of 1,922 kilograms.
This, he said, was following assets forfeiture proceedings instituted in court by the agency, the house in Ado-Odo, which served as a warehouse for his illicit drug trade, has since been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
While commending the officers and men of the Ogun command for the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen.-Buba Marwa acknowledged their commitment.
Marwa 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 the wanted drug kingpin as a triumph of justice and a testament to the agency’s long memory.
He added 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 is particularly significant because it closes a painful chapter that began on June 15, 2014.
“For twelve years, this individual lived with the blood of our gallant officers 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.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives arrested an ex-convict, female online vendor and others in raids conducted in Jigawa, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu and Kwara states.
Giving a breakdown, Babafemi said that NDLEA operatives in Edo State on Tuesday, Jan. 13 raided the Arokpa forest, Uzebba town, Owan West LGA, leading to the arrest of another drug lord, and seizure of 320kg skunk and seeds.
Meanwhile, in the FCT, Abuja, operatives on Friday, Jan. 16 tracked and arrested a 44-year-old lady 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 advertisement were recovered from her home at the Kaura district, Abuja.
“Another suspect was on Tuesday, Jan. 13 arrested with 148.3 grams of cocaine and skunk at his 12 Biskira street, Abacha Estate, Abuja home,” he said.
Also, 118.1kg skunk was seized from two suspects at Fadeyi area of Mushin Lagos on Friday, Jan. 16 adding that not less than 116kg of the same substance was recovered from a warehouse at the new market area of Enugu the same day.
Similarly, two suspects were on Thursday, Jan. 15 arrested by NDLEA operatives along Onitsha -Asaba expressway in Delta, while conveying 410,800 pills of tramadol.
“Other drugs intercepted include 84.2 litres of codeine syrup; 82,250 tablets of diazepam; 900 tabs of swinol and 65 pills of Molly,” he said.
In Oyo State, a suspect was nabbed on Thursday, Jan. 15 at Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies, and 2.5kg Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Babafemi said that another suspect was 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 Agbeni area of the state capital, 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam were recovered from the store of Orji Edwin, currently at large, on Saturday, Jan. 17.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, Jan. 13 raided a residential building at Gamo area of Ilorin where they seized 42 bags of skunk that weighed 387.40kg.
Babafemi said that 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 on Friday, Jan. 16.
In the same vein, an ex-convict, was arrested with various quantities of skunk and exol-5 pills along with his accomplice in Ringim, Jigawa, on Saturday, Jan. 17.
“Before his 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 even inflicted injury on one of the officers,” he said.
Meanwhile, 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.
Also, Anglican Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue; members of Katsina emirate, Katsina; and residents of Maitumbi community, Minna, Niger State among others.
