The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, in connection with alleged cross-border drug trafficking.

According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Olasele was apprehended on Sunday, 3 August 2025, at his church in Okun Ajah, Lekki, Lagos. Operatives had monitored the premises throughout the day and detained him after the evening service.

The NDLEA stated that the arrest followed the seizure of two consignments of cannabis known as Ghana Loud, linked to the suspect. The first, weighing 200 kilograms, was intercepted at Okun Ajah beach on 4 June 2025. A second shipment of 700 kilograms was recovered from a delivery van on 6 July 2025.

Babafemi said Olasele admitted to transporting the drugs via waterways from Ghana to Nigeria and confirmed that he had fled to Ghana after evading arrest twice in the past.

In separate operations, NDLEA operatives in Lagos arrested Benjamin Udo Ukoh on 7 August at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, recovering 32 pouches of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 15.63 kilograms.

In Nasarawa State, a raid on 9 August led to the seizure of 3,093 kilograms of skunk from three suspects in New Karu. In Kano State, 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359 kilograms were recovered from Nura Yahaya on 8 August, while 9 kilograms of Colorado cannabis were seized from Umar Adamu Umar on 6 August.

The NDLEA also reported the confiscation of 20,000 tramadol pills and 200 diazepam ampoules from Usman Musa on 8 August along the Zaria-Kano road.

In Gombe State, operatives on 8 August recovered 550,266 opioid pills, mostly tramadol, from an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami, arresting a suspect, Usama Isah. Another suspect, Ibrahim Adamu, was detained on 9 August with 50,000 tramadol capsules.

In Edo State, a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Onitsha to Isanlu was intercepted on 6 August at Ewu junction, yielding 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets of the same drug, and 400 pentazocine ampoules. The driver, Taiye Jethro, was arrested.

The agency confirmed that sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme continued nationwide during the week, targeting schools, military units, trade associations, and correctional facilities.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the state commands involved and urged officers to sustain the agency’s approach to drug control.