By Fresh Facts Staff Reporter
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, over alleged cross-border drug trafficking.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said in Abuja on Sunday that the cleric, who had been on the run for months, was the mastermind behind multiple shipments of illicit drugs ferried from Ghana into Nigeria.
Olasele was apprehended on Sunday, August 3, at his church on Okun Ajah, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos. NDLEA operatives reportedly laid siege to the premises, waiting until the end of evening service before arresting him as he stepped outside.
According to the agency, the arrest followed two earlier failed attempts in June, after which the suspect fled to Ghana. He was linked to the seizure of two large consignments of “Ghana Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis—200kg intercepted at Okun Ajah beach on June 4, and 700kg recovered from a delivery van on July 6.
The NDLEA said Olasele confessed to smuggling the substances through waterways from Ghana into Nigeria.
In a related operation in Lagos, NDLEA officers on August 7 raided an apartment at Kishi House, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, arresting Benjamin Udo Ukoh and recovering 32 pouches of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 15.63kg.
Other major busts during the week included:
- Nasarawa State: Recovery of 3,093kg of skunk from Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33; and Chekwube Odo, 25, in New Karu on August 9.
- Kano State: Arrest of Nura Yahaya, 29, in Kumbotso with 359kg of skunk on August 8, and seizure of 9kg of Colorado cannabis from Umar Adamu Umar, 27, along Zaria-Kano road on August 6. In another Kano raid, 20,000 tramadol pills and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection were recovered from Usman Musa, 30.
- Gombe State: Seizure of 550,266 opioid pills—mainly tramadol—from an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami on August 8, with suspect Usama Isah arrested. The next day, Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was caught along Potiskum road, Bajoga, with 50,000 capsules of tramadol.
- Edo State: Interception of a white Toyota Hiace bus at Ewu junction on August 6, yielding 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tramadol tablets, and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection. The driver, Taiye Jethro, was arrested.
Babafemi noted that the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns continued nationwide during the week, targeting schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.
