7 Years After Escape From Prison, NDLEA Arrests Wanted Abuja Kingpin

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have apprehended a drug lord, Ibrahim Momoh, also known as Ibrahim Bendel, seven years after he escaped from prison custody.

The arrest occurred during a raid on Momoh’s hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of the Federal Capital Territory.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, shared on their Facebook page on Sunday.

Momoh, a major distributor of illicit substances within the FCT, was initially arrested on November 27, 2014, with 385.1 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
He was convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on July 22, 2015. However, he escaped Kuje prison on May 16, 2016, while serving his sentence.

The statement in part said, “Seven years after he escaped from prison custody following his conviction for drug dealing, a notorious major distributor of illicit substances within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Ibrahim Momoh, popularly known as Ibrahim Bendel, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA during a raid of his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of the FCT.

“Ibrahim Momoh was first arrested on November 27, 2014, with cannabis sativa weighing 385.1kgs, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on July 22, 2015, but while serving his jail term at Kuje, he escaped from prison custody on 16th May 2016.

Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on 20th November 2022 stormed the warehouse of the fleeing ex-convict, Ibrahim Momoh, and recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278kgs. The store was located within his poultry farm in the Dei-Dei area of the FCT.

“Though Momoh was not around at the time, his warehouse manager, 55-year-old Ghanaian Richard Forson Gordon, was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to two years in jail. The Agency, after that, declared Ibrahim Momoh wanted.

“The manhunt for the drug lord paid off on 5th November 2023 when operatives again raided his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of Abuja where he was arrested with 56.9kgs of cannabis sativa and 42.7 grams of Diazepam. In another raid in the same area of the FCT on Monday, November 13, a suspect, Yusufa Ibrahim, 27, was arrested with 75.3kgs of cannabis.

“Meanwhile, a massive operation in the forest of Efon Alaye in the Efon local government area of Ekiti state on Saturday, November 18, 2023, has led to the destruction of 52,500 kilograms of cannabis sativa covering over 21 hectares of farmland while a total of ninety-two bags of same substance weighing 1,380 kilogrammes were recovered. Another 250 bags weighing 3,000kgs stored in different huts on the farm were also burnt.

“No fewer than 15 suspects were arrested on the farm during the operation. They include: Okikiri Julius, 27; Ozoemene Friday Efajemu, 31; Tosin Ibrahim, 18; Israel Samuel, 25; Godwin David, 39; Friday Isaac, 19; Ayomide Igbekele, 18; Joshua Daniel, 27; Emmanuel Nwachukwu, 19; Emeka Onyeama, 31; Ani Augustine, 27; Obasi Ogbu, 32; Orsusue Peter, 23; Daniel Emmanuel, 18; and Yinusa James, 22.”