By Ibironke Ariyo
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.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said the suspect was notorious for drug trafficking, evading arrest and mobilising armed thugs against security agents.
He said the suspect was on January 16 tracked to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State by tactical teams of the agency following credible intelligence.
He also said 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.
READ ALSO: NDLEA secures detention of 21 crew, vessel over cocaine shipment
“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 the operatives succeeded in recovering 139 sacks of skunk with a total weight of 1,922 kilograms.
This, he said, was followed by assets forfeiture proceedings instituted in court by the agency, the house in Ado-Odo, which served as a warehouse for his illicit drug trade. All these have been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
In another development, the NDLEA said it has arrested an ex-convict, female online vendor and others in raids conducted in Jigawa, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Enugu, and Kwara states.
Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement while giving a breakdown, said the NDLEA operatives in Edo State on January 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 January 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, January 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 January 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 January 15 arrested by the NDLEA operatives along Onitsha -Asaba expressway in Delta State, 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 January 15 at Moniya, Ibadan, with 321 litres of skuchies, and 2.5kg Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Babafemi said 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 Ibadan, 52,430 pills of tramadol and bromazepam were recovered from the store of Orji Edwin, currently at large, on January 17.
In Kwara State, the NDLEA operatives on January 13 raided a residential building at Gamo area of Ilorin where they seized 42 bags of skunk that weighed 387.40kg.
Babafemi said 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 January 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, January 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.
While commending the officers and men of the Ogun State command for the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen.-Buba Marwa (retd) 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.
Meanwhile, across all commands and formations of the agency nationwide, the NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others in the past week.
These included WADA enlightenment lectures 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. (NAN)
