Court jails six drug traffickers for 156 years in Lagos, Ogun

Six drug traffickers have been jailed for 156 years by the Federal High Court in Lagos and Ogun states.

Their convictions followed their prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on offences bordering on drug dealing, transportation, and conspiracy to transport illicit substances.

NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the worse hit is a 27-year-old drug dealer, Ahmed Abdulsabur, who was arrested in 2022 and prosecuted at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, presided over by Hon. Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik.

“Delivering her judgment on the six counts charge brought against Ahmed, Justice Abdulmalik convicted and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment on each count, bringing the total number of his in jail term to 60,” the statement read.

“In a similar ruling, Justice Abdulmalik also sentenced another dealer, Olumide Elegbede, 32, to 20 years jail term; 10 years for each of the two counts charge brought against him in charge number: FHC/AB/128C/2I. The judge ruled that the years of imprisonment in both cases will run concurrently.”

At the Federal High Court in Lagos, where the quartet of Okechukwu Umeh; Lanre Adebayo; Adigun Adeshina, and Emmanuel Omijeh were arraigned on three counts in charge number FHC/L/87c/2023, the trial judge, Justice Akintayo Aluko, on Thursday, March 16 convicted and sentenced each of them to five years on count one; seven years each on counts two and three. This brings the total number of years for each of them to 19 years jail term and the four of them to 76 years imprisonment.

While the judge ruled that the sentences should run concurrently, he also gave the four convicts the option of paying N20 million in lieu of the jail terms. This is in addition to granting the application by the NDLEA for the final forfeiture of a white colour Ford bus with registration number: PHC 315 ZT, used in conveying 532. 8 kilograms of Loud variant of cannabis on the day of their arrest, Sunday 22nd January 2023 along the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway. The court also granted the final forfeiture of Three Million Naira (N3, 000, 000) offered as a bribe by the convicts to NDLEA officers.

The drugs concealed with ‘take away’ food packs in 19 big cartons were seized in the white Ford bus heading to Port Harcourt, Rivers state along Lagos-Ibadan expressway at 2:35 am on Sunday 22nd Jan. The convicts: Okechukwu Umen, 41; Lanre Adebayo Ismaila, 47; Adeshina Adigun Fatai, 50; and Emmanuel Omijeh, 42, were arrested in connection with the seizure and three million naira (N3,000,000) offered as bribe kept as part of the exhibits for their prosecution.