Two alleged notorious drug kingpins, Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince, have been sentenced to life imprisonment following their arrests and prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian, a 43-year-old businessman, was first arrested on March 19, 2022, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. He was apprehended during the inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Upon inspection, he was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms. Despite being granted bail after pleading not guilty, he absconded, leading to the revocation of his bail and the issuance of an arrest warrant.
In a surprising turn of events, Uwaezuoke was arrested again on August 1, 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos. This time, he was attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India by ingesting it, using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.
He pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment or a fine of ₦1,500,000.00. After paying the fine, he was transferred to Abuja to face another importation case.
On March 20, 2024, he was re-arraigned at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, where he pleaded guilty again.
However, due to his lack of remorse, the court, considering the seriousness of drug-related offenses and his repeated offenses, sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Agbo Chidike Prince, 42 years old, was arrested on October 21, 2023, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong.
He had ingested 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73 grams. Upon arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, he pleaded guilty to the one-count charge.
Despite pleas for leniency, considering the commercial quantity of the drug and the nature of the offense, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment on April 15, 2024.
In addition to these arrests, on April 26, 2024, NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport arrested a passenger, Yahaya Danjuma Oturah, attempting to export 4,000 pills of tramadol 225mg to Malpensa, Italy, on an Ethiopian Airline flight.
The pills were concealed in women’s wear and granulated melon packed in the suspect’s backpack and another bag containing food items. Oturah confessed that he was hired to courier the drug for 700 Euros upon successful delivery in Italy.
Furthermore, in Bayelsa, NDLEA operatives arrested 28-year-old Jennifer Iliya for producing and distributing cakes laced with illicit drugs, especially cannabis sativa.
During her arrest, a substantial number of drugged cakes weighing 1.5kg were recovered from her. This arrest followed the previous arrests of 20-year-old hair stylist Josephine Odunu and dispatch rider Edesemi Ikporo on March 10 for a similar offense.
Other arrests include Joseph Dadik, 47, and Bensha Yari, 32, who were arrested with 24,180 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 135.5 kilograms at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, and Adamu Umar, 18, who was nabbed with 20.700kg of cannabis during a raid on his house in Shuware area of Mubi, Adamawa state.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives seized 310.7kg of cannabis during raids in parts of Mushin, Lagos state, and arrested Stanley Chukwudi, 43, with 5,900 ampoules of pentazocine injection in Sabon Gari area of Kano State.
Also, a couple, Fredrick Odion, 53, and Gladys Odion, 52, were arrested with 50kg of cannabis in Iruekpen, Esan West LGA, Edo state.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men of the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services of the Agency for the diligent prosecution of the cases.
He emphasized that the success rate of cases prosecuted by the agency demonstrates that there is no escape route for those involved in the illicit drug trade.
He also praised the various commands of the Agency across the country for intensifying their efforts in the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).
