Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, the general overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church has been apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over alleged drug trafficking from Ghana to Nigeria.
Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, who had been on the run for months, was arrested on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at his church in Okun Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.
According to a statement released the same day by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, operatives waited until the end of the Sunday service before moving in to arrest him as he stepped out of the church premises.
Babafemi said the pastor fled to Ghana in June to avoid arrest after being linked to two cannabis seizures — 200kg recovered at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4 and 700kg found in his delivery van on July 6.
Quoting the statement, Babafemi said: “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.”
Babafemi further disclosed that the pastor confessed to transporting the consignments via waterways from Ghana.
“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,” he said.
In a separate operation in Lagos on Thursday, August 7, NDLEA operatives raided an apartment at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, arresting Benjamin Ukoh and recovering 32 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 15.63kg.
The NDLEA spokesman also reported other arrests and seizures across the country:
Nasarawa State – On Saturday, August 9, 3,093kg of skunk was seized from Emmanuel Asoquo Johnny (51), Okem Raphael (33), and Chekwube Odo (25) in New Karu.
Kano State – On Friday, August 8, 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was arrested in Geza, Kumbotso, with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359kg. Earlier, on Wednesday, August 6, Umar Adamu Umar (27) was arrested with 9kg of Colorado along Zaria-Kano Road.
Gombe State – On Friday, August 8, a raid in Tudun Wadan Pantami uncovered 550,266 opioid pills, leading to the arrest of Usama Isah. On Saturday, August 9, Ibrahim Adamu (23) was caught along Potiskum Road, Bajoga, with 50,000 capsules of tramadol.
Edo State – On Wednesday, August 6, a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Onitsha to Isanlu, Kogi, was intercepted at Ewu junction with 23,940 tramadol capsules, 1,100 tablets, and 400 pentazocine ampoules. The driver, Taiye Jethro, was detained.
Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), urged personnel nationwide to maintain a balanced approach to drug control operations.