At 6:30 a.m. on November 6, the departure hall of Murtala Mohammed International Airport was buzzing with early travelers. Among them was Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, 40, dressed casually, clutching a small bag and a ticket to Jeddah. He was minutes from boarding a flight for Umrah, until NDLEA operatives closed in.
Azeez wasn’t just another pilgrim. He was a wanted man in the UK, having jumped bail on drug charges years ago. Back in Nigeria, he allegedly built a hidden empire: a high-tech drug lab churning out “Colorado,” the deadly synthetic cannabis now flooding Lagos clubs and streets.
His cover? A quiet bungalow on 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki. Behind blacked-out windows and a fake “home gym” sign, industrial mixers whirred, chemicals bubbled, and 148.3 kilograms of Colorado were packed in sleek bottles, ready for export.
But NDLEA had been watching for months. Intelligence from intercepted shipments and UK partners led them straight to Azeez. When he showed up at the airport, they pounced. No drama. No chase. Just cuffs and a quiet walk to the holding room.
Within two hours, a 15-man raid team stormed the Lekki lab. Inside, they found Azeez’s deputy, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun, mid-batch. He was hiding upstairs, hands still dusted with chemical residue.
The haul was staggering: 72.5 kg of wet Colorado drying on racks, 75.8 kg sealed and labeled, 200 liters of solvents, and lab gear worth millions. The setup could pump out 100 kg weekly, enough to hook thousands.
NDLEA boss Mohamed Buba Marwa didn’t mince words: “These are merchants of death preying on our youth. We’re coming for every lab, every kingpin.”
Azeez and Kekere-Ekun are now locked in NDLEA’s maximum-security wing in Ikoyi. Extradition to the UK looms. Trial starts soon.
On X, Nigerians are stunned. “Umrah cover for drug runs? Wild,” one user wrote. Another: “Lekki again? That estate needs prayers.” Memes of “Colorado pilgrim” are already trending.
This bust follows a similar raid in Ajao Estate days earlier. NDLEA says more strikes are coming. For now, one kingpin’s holy journey ended before takeoff, and Nigeria just got a little safer.
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