NDLEA Arrests Wanted General Overseer For Alleged Cross-border Drug Trafficking
After months of fleeing abroad to evade arrest, the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, alias Abbas Ajakaiye, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos.
He is alleged to be the mastermind behind multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria, a statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said on Sunday.
“Prophet Adefolusho was arrested at his church located in Okun Ajah, Ogombo road, Lekki area of Lagos on Sunday 3rd August 2025 by NDLEA officers who waited for him since morning to conclude the Sunday worship service in the evening before moving in on him the moment he stepped out of the church premises.
“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 first seizure of 200kg of the psychoactive substance was made at Okun Ajah beach on 4th June 2025 while another consignment of 700kg of same substance was recovered from his delivery van on 6th July 2025,” the statement added.
The NDLEA said that the suspect had admitted to ferrying the illicit consignments through the waterways from Ghana into Nigeria,
It said that the General Overseer fled to Ghana after he escaped arrest twice.
In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Thursday 7th August raided an apartment at Kishi House 11 Layi Ajayi Bembe street, Parkview Estate Ikoyi where they arrested a suspect, Benjamin Udo Ukoh and recovered 32 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of Cannabis with a total weight of 15.63kg.
Similarly, 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 Nasarawa state.
The agency also said its operatives on August 8, had nabbed one 29-year-old Nura Yahaya at Geza area of Kumbotso, Kano State with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359kg, while another suspect, Umar Adamu Umar, 27, was taken into custody on 6th after he was found in possession of 9kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, 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.
“A raid at an uncompleted building located at Tudun Wadan Pantami in Gombe town, Gombe state on Friday 8th August led 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 in Bajoga with 50,000 capsules of tramadol.”
The agency further said that its operatives in Edo state, intercepted a white Toyota Hiace bus marked YAB 5522 K at Ewu junction, coming from Onitsha Anambra and heading to Isanlu in Kogi was Wednesday 6th August, conveying 23, 940 capsules of tramadol, 1,100 tablets of same opioid and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
It added that one suspect, Taiye Jethro, was arrested on the spot.
The statement said that the Chairman said Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has commended the officers and men of the Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano, and Edo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity,
Marwa enjoined them and other NDLEA officers across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
