No fewer than four drug traffickers have been sentenced to different jail terms by the Federal High Court situated in Lagos, Enugu and Yola.
They were jailed for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs such as Cocaine, Heroin and cannabis following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
The convicts were sentenced by the courts between February 28th – March 7th 2025 based on charges leveled against them by the anti-narcotic agency.
Among the convicted drug traffickers were two kingpins that have been linked to importation of different drug consignment in the state.
One of the three kingpins, 48-year-old Ogbuji Ifeanyi, was intercepted by operatives of a special operation unit in NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja on September 18th 2024, during an inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight passengers from Addis Ababa to Lagos.
At the point of his arrest, Ogbuji was found in possession of 817 wraps of cocaine weighing 19.40 kilograms with an estimated street value of Four Billion Six Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Naira , which he imported from Adisababa.
He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos in charge number: FHC/L/845C. In his judgement delivered on 28th February 2025, Justice Bogoro convicted and sentenced Ogbuji to five years imprisonment on count one with an option of seven million naira fine and 10 years imprisonment on count two without an option of fine.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of monetary exhibits and other items found on him at the time of his arrest.
Another Kingpin who received a jail term sentence was 51-year-old Iludoba, who was arrested on December 31st 2021, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
Iludoba was found to have ingested 58 wraps of the illicit drug, 48 of which he excreted on transit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while he expelled the balance of 10 in NDLEA custody after his arrest.
The drug lord was later arraigned before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Enugu, on two counts in charge number FHC/EN/CR/18/2022 .
Delivering his judgement on March 5th 2025, Iludopa was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, bringing his total years in jail to 10 years, which will run concurrently from the date of his conviction.
In the case of 55-year-old Shuaibu Isa, and 50-year-old Zidon Zurga, they were arrested by NDLEA operatives on 25th November 2024 along Numan- Yola road.
The duo were found in possession of 500.800kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in a pilot Toyota Hilux vehicle, marked Lagos NT 829 AAA and a Prado SUV with a fake presidency number plate 01B-266 FG.
They were later arraigned before Justice Bala Usman of the Federal High Court, Yola, in charge number FHC/YL/150 /2024 and convicted on February 7th 2025 on a two count charge each.
Both men were sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, bringing their combined years in jail to 70 years or pay a fine of N25 million each.
Aside from their sentencing, the court also ordered the interim forfeiture of the two jeeps used in trafficking the illicit drug consignment.
Reacting to the convictions which took place in various states, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the various commands involved in the arrest and prosecution of the cases as well as the judiciary for speedy adjudication.
“The conviction and the forfeiture of the convicts’ instruments of crime will further strengthen the deterrent effect of our ongoing effort to totally dismantle every drug network in the country,” he said.
