The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) says it has arrested a suspended operative of the Ondo State Amotekun Corps, Julius Ekujumi, over his alleged involvement in illicit drugs.
The agency explained that the suspect was linked to the seizure of about 90 kilograms of illicit drugs recovered from his shop in December 2025.
The spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement said Ekujumi’s arrest on Wednesday in Akure was a follow-up to an earlier raid that led to the recovery of some illegal substances.
Babafemi said during the December 2025 operation, NDLEA officers recovered a liquid mixture containing a cocktail of illicit drugs, including cannabis sativa, popularly known as “monkey tail,” stored in two paint buckets and a 25-litre jerry can, with a total weight of 84 kilogrammes.
He added that another consignment of cannabis sativa weighing four kilograms was recovered in a bag in the presence of Ekujumi’s wife, Modupe, while he was absent.
“The arrest was a follow-up operation to the seizure of about 90kg of illicit drugs recovered from his shop last December.
“On 10th December 2025, operatives of the NDLEA raided the residence of Julius Ekujumi in Akure.
“During the operation, the following exhibits were recovered in the presence of Modupe Ekujumi, while Julius Ekujumi was absent.
“A liquid mixture containing a cocktail of different illicit drugs, including cannabis sativa, popularly known as ‘monkey tail,’ stored in two paint buckets and a 25-litre jerry can, with a total weight of 84kg. Another consignment of cannabis sativa weighing 4kg was also recovered in a bag,” he said.
According to him, Modupe admitted ownership of the recovered exhibits and also revealed that her husband had advised her to venture into the ‘monkey tail’ business.
The NDLEA spokesperson confirmed that Modupe had been charged to court and that, following her husband’s arrest, the charge would be amended to include him.
Ekujumi was suspended, alongside Abu Taiwo and Akinsipe Victor, by the Ondo State Amotekun Corps after they demanded better working conditions.
The Amotekun Corps later declared the trio wanted over allegations of misconduct and breach of its rules and regulations.
However, the trio had approached court seeking protection to safeguard their fundamental rights.
The case was mentioned at the State High Court in Akure, Ondo State, but has reportedly suffered a series of adjournments.
Counsel to the agitators, Tope Temokun, confirmed that Ekujumi was arrested by NDLEA operatives at about 5:00pm at his shop in Akure.
He explained that Ekujumi was one of the three Amotekun officers who initiated agitation for the issuance of formal appointment letters to all operatives of the corps.
Temokun noted that during the struggle, his client became the most vocal figure in the movement, publicly speaking against what he described as oppression within the agency.
He alleged that the activism placed Ekujumi in direct conflict with his commander, who reportedly declared him and others wanted, leading to what he described as a manhunt involving a combined team of Amotekun and NDLEA operatives.
The lawyer further alleged that on December 10, 2025, at about 2:00am, a joint team stormed his client’s residence and forcefully took away his wife whom he claimed had remained in custody without lawful justification.
He maintained that if there were any lawful allegations against his client, the proper constitutional course would be to charge him before a court of competent jurisdiction without delay.
