LAGOS, Nigeria (Nov. 9, 2025) — A wanted drug lord, 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, the agency said Sunday.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said Azeez’s arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on his drug operations in Lagos. “The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for the production of Colorado and other dangerous synthetic substances, and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, shows that these are no doubt the first in a series of many strikes against merchants of death,” NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said.
According to the agency, Azeez had previously been charged with drug offenses in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria, where he established a large-scale synthetic cannabis laboratory in the Lekki area.
“At about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, Azeez walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport,” Babafemi said. “He was immediately taken to his laboratory at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance for weeks.”
Inside the facility, operatives dismantled the lab and recovered 148.3 kilograms of Colorado, precursor chemicals, and production equipment. Another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun, was arrested with him.
In a separate operation at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA officers, working with the Customs Service and other security agencies, discovered 105.5 kilograms of designer drug “Molly” and 500 grams of methamphetamine during a joint examination of a shipment on Friday.
Elsewhere across the country, NDLEA operatives made a series of arrests and seizures:
In Niger State, a Volvo truck carrying 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilograms of skunk was intercepted along the Kainji–Wawa road.
In Taraba, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, was arrested with 15,020 capsules of tramadol in Ardo Kola Local Government Area.
In Kogi, a 7.6-kilogram consignment of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain, was seized on the Okene–Lokoja highway. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of 40-year-old Chukwunonso Anieze, while 175,000 opioid pills were recovered.
Three men — Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39 — were nabbed at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate with 769 kilograms of skunk en route to Kano.
In Edo, 73-year-old James Ugbedo was arrested at a cannabis plantation where 1,459.75 kilograms of the substance were destroyed, while in Bayelsa, 70-year-old Comfort Odudu was caught with 5 kilograms of skunk.
Marwa commended NDLEA officers nationwide for their efforts and urged them to sustain momentum. “Let it be known to those still hiding in the dark that the NDLEA, supported by our local and international partners, will continue to hunt them and bring them to justice,” he said.
The agency also reported ongoing community sensitization programs under its “War Against Drug Abuse” (WADA) initiative in schools, workplaces, and religious centers across several states, including Ebonyi, Oyo, Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, and Kebbi.
