The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has taken into custody Adefolusho Olasele, better known as Abbas Ajakaiye, founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, for his involvement in a series of illicit drug shipments from Ghana into Nigeria.
Olasele, who had been evading authorities for several months, was arrested on Sunday, August 3, at the church’s premises in Okun Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.
In a statement released on Sunday, August 10, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi explained that operatives monitored the service and waited until its conclusion before intercepting the pastor as he exited the building.
Babafemi further revealed that Olasele had fled to Ghana in June to avoid capture after investigators linked him to two separate cannabis seizures, 200 kilograms recovered at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4, and another 700 kilograms discovered inside his delivery van on July 6.
“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 for masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.
“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 the same substance was recovered from his delivery van on 6th July 2025,” the statement read.
Babafemi stated that, according to him, the pastor admitted transporting the drug consignments from Ghana into Nigeria using maritime routes.
He said, “In his statement, he admitted ferrying the illicit consignments through the waterways from Ghana into Nigeria, adding that he had fled to the West African country to hide after he escaped arrest twice in the recent past.”
In a separate Lagos operation on Thursday, August 7, NDLEA operatives stormed an apartment in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, arresting Benjamin Ukoh and seizing 32 pouches of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 15.63 kilograms.
Elsewhere, on Saturday, August 9, officers in Nasarawa State intercepted a major shipment of skunk, a variety of cannabis, totaling 3,093 kilograms.
The haul was linked to three suspects: Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny, 51; Okem Raphael, 33; and Chekwube Odo, 25, who were apprehended in the New Karu area.
In Kano State, 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was arrested on Friday, August 8, at Geza in Kumbotso with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359 kilograms.
Earlier that week, on Wednesday, August 6, NDLEA officers detained 27-year-old Umar Adamu Umar along the Zaria–Kano road after finding 9 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant, in his possession.
According to Babafemi, a raid in Gombe State on Friday, August 8, targeted an uncompleted building in Tudun Wadan Pantami.
The operation uncovered 550,266 opioid pills and led to the arrest of Usama Isah. The next day, Saturday, August 9, officers along Potiskum Road in Bajoga stopped and detained 23-year-old Ibrahim Adamu with 50,000 capsules of tramadol.
In Edo State, on Wednesday, August 6, NDLEA personnel intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus en route from Onitsha to Isanlu, Kogi, at Ewu junction. A search of the vehicle yielded 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets, and 400 ampoules of pentazocine. The driver, identified as Taiye Jethro, was taken into custody.
Commending the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the dedication of officers and urged personnel nationwide to continue adopting a balanced, strategic approach to combating drug trafficking.
