Adefolusho Aanu Olasele
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested Adefolusho Aanu Olasele (aka Abbas Ajakaiye), for allegedly masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.
Olasele is the founder and general overseer of ‘The Turn of Mercy Church’ in Lagos.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Olasele was arrested on August 3 at his church in Okun Ajah, Ogombo road, in the Lekki area of Lagos — after months of fleeing abroad to evade arrest.
Babafemi said NDLEA officers waited for the cleric to conclude Sunday worship service in the evening before moving in on him when he stepped out of the church premises.
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“The arrest came after he had evaded arrest twice and fled to Ghana to hide since June, when operatives started trailing him following the seizure of two shipments of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis linked to him,” the statement reads.
“The first seizure of 200kg of the psychoactive substance was made at Okun Ajah beach on 4th June 2025, while another consignment of 700 kilograms of the same substance was recovered from his delivery van on 6th July 2025.
“In his statement, he admitted ferrying the illicit consignments through the waterways from Ghana into Nigeria, adding that he had fled to the West African country to hide after he escaped arrest twice in the recent past.”
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Babafemi said in another operation on August 7 in Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided an apartment at Kishi House, 11 Layi Ajayi Bembe street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, where they arrested one Benjamin Udo Ukoh and recovered 32 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis, with a total weight of 15.63kg.
“In Nasarawa state, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 9th August, recovered a large consignment of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 3,093 kilograms from the trio of Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33, and Chekwube Odo, 25, at New Karu area of the state,” the statement reads.
“While 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was nabbed at Geza area of Kumbotso Kano State with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359kg on Friday 8th August, another suspect Umar Adamu Umar, 27, was taken into custody on Wednesday 6th August by NDLEA officers after seizing 9kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis from him along Zaria-Kano road, Kano.
“In another interdiction operation in Kano, 20,000 pills of tramadol and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection were recovered from a suspect, Usman Musa, 30, at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria-Kano road on Friday, 8th August.”
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The NDLEA also said its operatives raided an uncompleted building located at Tudun Wadan Pantami in Gombe town, Gombe state, on August 8, leading to the recovery of 550,266 pills of opioids, mainly tramadol, while a suspect, Usama Isah, was arrested.
“The following day, Saturday, 9th August, another suspect, Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was arrested by NDLEA officers along Potiskum road, Bajoga, with 50,000 capsules of tramadol,” the statement added.
