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Wanted General Overseer Arrested in Lagos for Cross-Border Drug Trafficking as NDLEA Recovers 3,476kg of Cannabis Variants, 645,906 Opioid Pills in Nationwide Raids

After months on the run abroad to evade arrest, the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, alias Abbas Ajakaiye, has been apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.

Prophet Adefolusho was arrested at his church along Okun Ajah, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos, on Sunday, 3 August 2025. NDLEA officers laid siege to the premises from morning, allowing him to conclude the Sunday worship service before moving in the moment he stepped out.


The arrest followed earlier failed attempts to capture him, during which he fled to Ghana in June after operatives linked him to two major seizures of “Ghana Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis. The first consignment—200kg—was intercepted at Okun Ajah Beach on 4 June 2025, while another 700kg was recovered from his delivery van on 6 July 2025. In his statement, the cleric confessed to ferrying the consignments via waterways from Ghana to Nigeria and confirmed he had been in hiding in Ghana after twice evading arrest.

In another Lagos operation on Thursday, 7 August, NDLEA operatives raided an apartment at Kishi House, 11 Layi Ajayi Bembe Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, arresting suspect Benjamin Udo Ukoh and recovering 32 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 15.63kg.


Elsewhere, in Nasarawa State on Saturday, 9 August, operatives intercepted a massive 3,093kg consignment of skunk from three suspects—Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny (51), Okem Raphael (33), and Chekwube Odo (25)—in the New Karu area.

In Kano State, 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was arrested at Geza, Kumbotso, on Friday, 8 August, with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359kg. On Wednesday, 6 August, Umar Adamu Umar (27) was nabbed along Zaria–Kano Road with 9kg of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain. Another Kano operation on Friday, 8 August, led to the seizure of 20,000 tramadol pills and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection from Usman Musa (30) at Gadar Tamburawa.


In Gombe State, a raid on an uncompleted building at Tudun Wadan Pantami on Friday, 8 August, yielded 550,266 opioid pills—mainly tramadol—and the arrest of Usama Isah. On Saturday, 9 August, Ibrahim Adamu (23) was intercepted along Potiskum Road, Bajoga, with 50,000 tramadol capsules.


In Edo State, NDLEA operatives stopped a white Toyota Hiace bus (registration YAB 5522 K) at Ewu Junction on Wednesday, 6 August. The vehicle, traveling from Onitsha, Anambra, to Isanlu, Kogi, carried 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tramadol tablets, and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Suspect Taiye Jethro was arrested.


Meanwhile, NDLEA Commands nationwide continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in the past week, reaching schools, religious centers, workplaces, and communities. Activities included lectures at Mind City College, Saki, Oyo State; Gwagwarwa Primary School, Nasarawa LGA, Kano State; and the Nigerian Army’s 241 Recce Model Battalion, Nguru, Yobe State. Advocacy visits were also made to the Nigerian Correctional Service in Ado Ekiti and the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly.


Commending the Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano, and Edo Commands for their seizures and arrests, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) urged operatives nationwide to maintain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control—combining supply suppression with preventive advocacy.

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