The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced on Wednesday the arrest of Sulaiman Jimoh, also known as Temo, the leader of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel.
Temo, who had been on the agency’s wanted list, was finally apprehended after evading capture for a prolonged period.
This arrest follows the recent capture of another drug baron, Joachin Mbonu, who was detained in his mansion in Imo State on July 12 after fleeing South Africa.
In a statement, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi detailed Temo’s capture, which occurred after initial resistance from the suspect and his associates.
Babafemi stated, “After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh (alias Olowoidiogede, popularly known as Temo), has been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at his enclave after an initial resistance from him and his horde of hoodlums.”
Babafemi recounted that NDLEA operatives had previously seized drugs worth billions of naira from Temo, often resulting in fierce gunfights with his men.
“In the last two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo, but he has remained largely evasive.
Some of the recent seizures of his shipments include: 14,524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus intercepted at Ojuelegba area of Lagos in the early hours of Sunday, January 28, 2024; two truck-loads of the same substance weighing 8,852kg intercepted at Eleko Beach, Lekki Lagos on May 4, 2023, and 252kg of Loud seized from his enclave in Mushin on July 26, 2023. Indeed, in the last two encounters, his men engaged NDLEA operatives in a gunfight,” Babafemi said.
Babafemi narrated how the NDLEA’s surveillance team tracked Temo to Igbarere Street in Mushin and pinned him down on July 22. When he attempted to escape, a reinforcement of 50 operatives was called in to secure his capture.
“The drug kingpin was very notorious for always being on the move to evade arrest, but with the persistence and determination of the Agency, aided by modern tools and intelligence, the concerted effort to get him paid off at 10 am on Monday, July 22, 2024, when NDLEA’s surveillance teams on his trail tracked and pinned him down at Igbarere Street, Mushin.
A reinforcement of about 50 operatives was immediately mobilized to the area while he was attempting to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 marked 01G-300G,” Babafemi stated.
Temo’s attempt to mobilize hoodlums to engage and distract the operatives failed, and he was ultimately overpowered and taken into custody. The Mercedes Benz SUV he was in was also recovered.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), commended the officers and men of the Lagos State Command, Special Monitoring Task Force, and other formations involved in Temo’s arrest for their resilience, vigilance, and professionalism.
Marwa urged them to continue intensifying efforts against drug cartels across the country.
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