• NDLEA intercepts Italy-bound illicit consignment, arrests lady in Bayelsa, couple in Edo
Two notorious drug kingpins; Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian, 43 and Agbo Chidike Prince, 42, have been sentenced to life imprisonment for cocaine trafficking by a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Their sentence brought to an end years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Christian’s journey to jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on March 29, 2022 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement yesterday, said the convict was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilogrammes and subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja in charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022.
The convict was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty but absconded thereafter, leaving the court no other option but to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.
In a curious twist, Christian was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 1, 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to export 1.822 kilogrammes of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.
He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lago in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023. He pleaded guilty to the two-count charge and was convicted and sentenced on October 18, 2023, to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of N1.5 million.
He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him. He was re-arraigned on March 20, 2024, at the Federal High Court, Abuja in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again.
Despite his plea, the court, noting his lack of remorse, the seriousness of drug-related offences and the fact that he is a repeated offender, convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
In the case of Prince, he was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong on October 21, 2023, for ingesting 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73grammes.
Upon his arraignment before Justice Abdulmalik, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one-count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.
Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasised the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on April 15, 2024, to life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers at the gate C departure hall of the Lagos airport on Friday, April 26, arrested a passenger, Yahaya Danjuma Oturah, while attempting to export 4,000 pills of tramadol 225mg to Malpensa, Italy on an Ethiopian Airline flight.
The psychoactive substance was found concealed in women’s clothes and granulated melon packed in the suspect’s backpack and another bag containing food items. In his statement, Oturah who is a frequent flier confessed he was hired to courier the drug for 700 Euros on successful delivery of the consignment in Italy.
In Bayelsa, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday April 24, arrested 28-year-old Jennifer Iliya at Amarata area of Yenagoa for producing and distributing cakes laced with illicit drugs, especially Cannabis sativa.
At the time of her arrest, a substantial number of the drugged cakes weighing 1.5kg were recovered from her. A 20-year-old hair stylist, Josephine Odunu and a dispatch rider, Edesemi Ikporo, 30, were arrested on Sunday, March 10, by NDLEA operatives in Yenagoa for a similar offence.
Two suspects: Joseph Dadik, 47 and Bensha Yari, 32 were arrested with 24,180 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 135.5 kilograms at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, while Adamu Umar, 18, was nabbed with 20.700kg cannabis when his house in Shuware area of Mubi, Adamawa state was raided on Friday, April 26.
No less than 310.7kg cannabis was recovered on Thursday, April 25, when NDLEA operatives raided parts of Mushin in Lagos state. While 300kg was seized at Olatunji Street, Mushin, 10.7kg of same substance was retrieved from two suspects: Tijani Wasiu and Suleiman Aishaa at Anifowose, Mushin.
Stanley Chukwudi, 43 was arrested with 5,900 ampoules of pentazocine injection at Sabon Gari area of Kano State on Thursday, April 25. Also, a couple, Fredrick Odion, 53, and Gladys Odion, 52, were nabbed with 50kg cannabis at Iruekpen, Esan west Local Council of Edo State by NDLEA officers on Wednesday, April 24.
With the same zeal, the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign in the past week. Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services of the Agency for the diligent prosecution of Christian and Prince cases.
He said the success rate of cases prosecuted by the agency has shown that there’s no escape route for those involved in the illicit trade of drug trafficking.
He equally applauded those of MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Edo, Adamawa and Bayelsa Commands as well as their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their drug supply and drug demand reduction activities.
