• Businessman Also Arrested in Ikoyi
By Abiola Olawale
In a shocking dramatic turn of events, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, on Sunday, 2025, for his alleged involvement in cross-border drug trafficking.
The arrest took place at his church in Okun Ajah, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos, moments after he concluded a Sunday worship service.
This was confirmed in a press statement issued by the NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said operatives had been tracking Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, since June 2025, following the seizure of two large consignments of “Ghana Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis allegedly linked to the pastor.
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, Babafemi also disclosed that some 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.
He added that in Nasarawa State, a raid on 9 August led to the seizure of 3,093 kilograms of skunk from three suspects in New Karu.
The statement added: “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 said to have been 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 reportedly arrested.
