The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, for allegedly masterminding multiple cross-border drug shipments into Nigeria.
Popularly known as Abbas Ajakaiye, the cleric was apprehended on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at his church in Okun Ajah, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos. NDLEA operatives reportedly kept watch from morning until the conclusion of the evening service before moving in to arrest him.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the arrest followed months of pursuit after the seizure of two large consignments of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, linked to the suspect. The first seizure, weighing 200 kilograms, was made at Okun Ajah beach on June 4, 2025, while another 700 kilograms were recovered from his delivery van on July 6, 2025. Prophet Olasele allegedly admitted transporting the drugs through waterways from Ghana into Nigeria and fleeing to Ghana after evading arrest twice.
In a related operation in Lagos on August 7, NDLEA officers raided an apartment at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, where they arrested a suspect, Benjamin Udo Ukoh, and recovered 32 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 15.63 kilograms.
The agency also recorded significant seizures in other states. In Nasarawa, on August 9, operatives recovered 3,093 kilograms of skunk from three suspects — Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33; and Chekwube Odo, 25 — in the New Karu area. In Kano, arrests included 29-year-old Nura Yahaya, found with 359 kilograms of skunk; 27-year-old Umar Adamu Umar, caught with nine kilograms of Colorado; and 30-year-old Usman Musa, who was intercepted with 20,000 tramadol pills and 200 diazepam ampoules.
In Gombe, a raid on an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami on August 8 led to the recovery of 550,266 tramadol pills, with a suspect, Usama Isah, taken into custody. The following day, Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was arrested along Potiskum road in Bajoga with 50,000 tramadol capsules. In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on August 6 intercepted a white Toyota Hiace bus at Ewu junction, recovering 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets of the same opioid, and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection. The driver, identified as Taiye Jethro, was arrested.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign across the country during the past week. Awareness lectures were delivered in schools, worship centres, military formations, workplaces and communities, including Mind City College in Saki, Oyo State; Gwagwarwa Primary School in Nasarawa LGA of Kano State; the Nigerian Army 241 Recce Model Battalion in Nguru, Yobe State; and to members of the Engine Grinders Association in Gboko, Benue State. The Ekiti State command also visited the Nigerian Correctional Service in Ado Ekiti, while the Anambra State command paid a similar advocacy visit to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Commending the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers of the Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano and Edo commands for their arrests, seizures and professionalism, urging them to sustain their balanced approach to drug control across the nation.
