The arrest of Lekan Jimoh, also known as Kanmo-Kanmo, on January 18, 2026, marks a watershed moment for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). This case highlights the persistent nature of Nigeria’s drug enforcement challenges while offering a rare sense of closure for the families of fallen officers.
The arrest of Kanmo-kanmo ends a 12-year manhunt for the mastermind behind the June 2014 killings of NDLEA officers Bolaji Owolodun, Rabiu Usman Kazaure, and Ishaku Joshua, whose lives were ended on the line of duty. The commitment shown across multiple administrations—from Ahmadu Giade, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah down to the current leadership of Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd)—demonstrates institutional memory and a refusal to let the murder of security personnel go unpunished.
The NDLEA knows why the arrest of Kanmo-kanmo is very important, especially looking af the many officers who have paid the supreme price. In 2017, for instance, gunmen killed three officers Nicholas Onwumere, Ebun Peters, and Abdulrahman Musa while they were on duty at a checkpoint in Okene, Kogi State. Indeed, in July last year, an officer simply identified as Jed was shot and killed in Ondo State. In April 2025 also, three officers sustained gunshot injuries and were hospitalized after an attack during a raid in the Jahi area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
Perhaps, the most sobering aspect of this case is that Jimoh remained active in the same community where the 2014 killings occurred. His arrest while in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk underscores a troubling reality. It shows how high-profile criminals often enjoy “untouchable” status by providing financial incentives to locals or using intimidation to ensure silence.
It is also telling the fact that a wanted kingpin, who has achieved notoriety for peddling drugs and other illicit substances, continued to operate for over a decade. This suggests a past reliance on rogue elements within security apparatuses or a lack of localized intelligence, or both.
This breakthrough by the NDLEA should serve as a reminder that drug trafficking is a community-level threat. If the community decides not to shield drug barons and their activities, the job of security agents will be made much easier. But if, on the other hand, the community decides to shield criminals, there is little or nothing that the security agencies can do. Many of our communities are today notorious for the growing, processing and selling of illicit substances.
As noted by the NDLEA, the fight against narcotics requires breaking the cycle of silence that allows barons to live as “philanthropists” in their communities. It also proves the importance of continued purging of rogue agents who may trade official secrets for drug money.
Whatever the case, the people should know that as far as the consequences of drug and other illicit substance abuse are concerned, they are almost always the first and only losers. The insecurity we see all around us, the various acts of criminality that the experience everywhere are actively being enabled by drug use. So the earlier we understand this, the better for all of us.
