NDLEA arrests pastor over Ghana–Nigeria drug smuggling
Abdullateef Fowewe
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, who is the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, due to accusations connecting him to several shipments of illegal drugs smuggled from Ghana into Nigeria.
Olasele, who had been avoiding capture for several months, was apprehended on Sunday, August 3, at his church in Okun Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.
As stated by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, agents quietly surveilled the location throughout the day and intervened immediately after the Sunday worship service ended.
Babafemi further detailed that the suspect fled to Ghana in June after being linked to two separate cannabis seizures: 200 kilograms found at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4 and 700 kilograms collected from a delivery van on July 6.
The statement elaborates, “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.
“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.”
