Family takes NDLEA to court over son’s death, demands N660m

A distraught father, Pa. Michael Ehigie, has dragged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to the Federal High Court, Akure, demanding N660 million as compensation over alleged extra-judicial killing of their son, Mr. Uyi Ehigie.

The 62-year-old father of the deceased, who is the plaintiff in the suit, alleged that his son was on November 14, 2016 shot and fatally wounded by officials of the NDLEA on patrol along Benin-Akure highway.

Lamenting the ordeal of losing his son, the deceased’s father said: “On that fateful day, my son was driving his commercial vehicle along Benin-Akure Road, when he was abruptly flagged down by the NDLEA officials from the Ondo Division of the agency. In a brazen act of recklessness, the NDLEA officials fired a shot at the deceased without any just or reasonable cause. He eventually died on November 24, 2016.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Imohimi Edgal, on Wednesday declared war on the illegal use of drugs as he destroyed over N400 million worth of illicit drugs recovered in Lagos.

Edgal, while destroying the drugs at Elegbe dump site, Ikorodu, said he had observed the connection between drugs and crime and the police would partner with other security agencies to rid the society of drug abuse.

“The substances destroyed were recovered during the course of raiding criminal hideouts. The substances contain Cocaine, Tramadol, Codeine, Indian Hemp and other dangerous drugs worth over N400m. We know there is a nexus between drugs and crime. Perhaps the availability of drugs and arms are the reasons why we have crimes.

“This is why we have decided to fight illegal use and sale of drugs and we have being receiving assistance through partnership with security agencies and the Lagos State government. These drugs were seized between Jan. 2018 and now. Since our store had become filled beyond capacity, we decided to approach the court for order to destroy them.” he said.