Two notorious drug kingpins have been convicted and sentenced to a combined 10 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos. Ajetsibo Emami, 37, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’, and Solomon Akpomuai, 51, were sentenced following separate drug trafficking charges.

Emami was arrested in Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, June 28, 2025, after NDLEA operatives dismantled his drug trafficking network in a three-day operation that led to the arrest of three other suspects.

Recovered from Emami’s network were 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 414.2 kilogrammes. The bust of Emami’s drug ring followed credible intelligence on his attempt to move the shipment to the Lekki area of Lagos, from where it would be distributed to other parts of the state and across the country.

He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/636C/2025, for dealing in illicit drugs.

In his verdict, the trial judge convicted Emami on a count charge filed against him by NDLEA prosecutor Assistant Commander of Narcotics Buhari Shuaibu Abdullahi, and sentenced him to six years in prison with an option of N50 million in lieu of jail.

Solomon Akpomuai was first arrested by men of the Customs Service along the Shagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway with 2,197.8 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, on June 3, 2025, and transferred to the NDLEA on June 16. He was arraigned in charge number FHC/L/635C before Justice Dipeolu for trafficking illicit drugs in large commercial quantities.

Also delivering judgment on the matter, the trial judge convicted and sentenced Akpomuai to four years in prison with an option of N50 million fine.

Responding to the verdict, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), described the conviction of the two drug kingpins as an indication that Nigeria will sooner than later surmount the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking as a result of the positive outcomes of the current balanced approach to the agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

He commended the judiciary, NDLEA officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of the cases, as well as other stakeholders, for their commitment to the cause of a drug-free country.