The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NDLEA

  • 197 drug convicts evaded prison – NDLEA chief

    The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade, has revealed how 197 convicted drug traffickers manipulated their way out of prison.

    Giade made the disclosure during the public destruction of 18,791.5953kg of illicit drugs at Bereko, Badagry, Lagos.

    “The plot was uncovered by the NDLEA when a drug convict who ought to be in prison was re-arrested while attempting to smuggle drugs at the Kano airport.

    “That was how a cartel that aided 197 convicted drug traffickers to evade prison sentence was detected by the NDLEA. The police investigated the case and confirmed my findings that 197 drug convicts were left off the hook with the connivance of some court clerks and prison warders,” he stated.

    Giade explained that “statutorily, NDLEA has no business taking care of an accused once the person had been arraigned and remanded in prison custody.”

    The agency discovered that the criminal act took place between the court and the prison after an accused had been sentenced.

    “This is a wake-up call for stakeholders to remain sensitive and prevent any act capable of undermining the criminal justice system. We must continue to discharge our responsibilities without compromise from the time a case is reported to when a convict completes serving the prescribed punishment by the court,” the NDLEA chief said.

    The destroyed drugs weighing 18,791.5953kg were seized by the NDLEA Lagos State Command, Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Command, Seme Border Special Area Command and the National Headquarters.

     

  • Drug barons abandoned me in Brazil – Suspect

    A 39-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Celestine Ikechukwu Okonkwo, has narrated his ordeal in the hands of drug barons who sponsored his trip to Brazil under the guise of white collar job.

    The suspect, who used to sell used clothes at Idumota market, said he was promised mouth-watering job opportunities here in Nigeria but suffered untold hardship before he was lured into drug trafficking.

    The NDLEA commander at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Mr. Hamisu Lawan, said the suspect tested positive for cocaine ingestion.

    Hamisu said, “The suspect tested positive to drug ingestion while returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He later excreted 70 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.326kg.”

    Okonkwo said he was a happy man until the drug barons approached him with a promise of better job abroad.

    “I was in my shop at Idumota market where I sell used clothes. I will never forget the day a young man came to my shop to buy shirt.

    “He told me he is from Anambra and that he lives in Brazil. He also promised to help me with a good job opportunity over there. Honestly, I was excited and felt it was answer to my age long prayer. He collected my phone number and left. This was how it all started.

    “After three months, the man called me that he was back to Nigeria. He prepared my international passport and also secured a visa for me. Then he told me to get set to travel any time. Few weeks later, he brought my ticket and I travelled to Brazil in January 2015. He gave me the name of the hotel where I will stay pending when he will get me a job. I was eventually abandoned to suffer.

    “When I exhausted my money, I began to sleep in a church. I also began to work for a Nigerian woman who owns a restaurant in order not to starve to death,” the suspect told NDLEA officials.

     

  • NDLEA commander seeks reinstatement

    NDLEA commander seeks reinstatement

    An assistant State Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Prince Benjamin Ikani, has taken the agency to the National Industrial Court (NIC), seeking reinstatement

    In the originating motion, Ikani is praying the court for four reliefs.

    The first, second and third respondents are the chairman of the NDLEA, the agency and its director-general/secretary.

    Ikani said he filed the suit, following the agency’s refusal to reinstate him, thereby disobeying an order of Justice Ayodele Obaseki-Osaghae of NIC.

    Ruling on an ex-parte application dated April 22, this year, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae ordered the respondents to maintain the status quo ante bellum as at February 15, this year, when Ikani was suspended,  pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    The presiding judge had further ordered the reinstatement of Ikani as an Assistant State Commander, including his pay, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    The court adjourned to May 14,  for hearing of the Originating Motion.

    But in the new suit filed through his lawyer, Mobola Akintunde, the applicant is seeking an Order of Certiorari of the court to quash the decision of the respondents, suspending him without remuneration for instituting a suit against the respondents as contained in a letter dated February 16, this year, saying the decision was ultra vires and a violation of his right to fair hearing.

    Ikani also prayed the court for “an order of prohibition prohibiting the respondents from implementing or enforcing the decision of the  respondents suspending the applicant from duty without remuneration as contained in the respondents’ letter dated February 16, 2015″.

    He also sought for “an order of injunction restraining the respondents by themselves, their officers, agents, servants or privies from implementing or enforcing the said decision contained in their letter dated February 16, 2015” and for such further or other orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.

    The three grounds upon which the application is predicated are that “the respondents have no power under the NDLEA Act Cap No LFN 2004 or the NDLEA Regulations (Terms and Conditions of Service) 2001 or indeed any other law to suspend the applicant from duty without pay merely on the ground that the applicants instituted an action against the respondents.

    “That the applicant was not given an opportunity to be heard before the decision to suspend him without remuneration was taken.

    “That the action of the respondents in suspending the applicant without remuneration on the ground that the applicant instituted an action against the respondents is a breach of the applicant’s right to approach the courts and access to justice”.

    In a 29-paragraph affidavit in support of the Originating  Motion, Ikani alleged that the NDLEA under Mr. Glade, had declared war on him following his appointment by the Attorney General of the federation as Secretary of the seven-man Presidential Committee, headed by Justice Gilbert Obayan (rtd.) and inaugurated in 2006 for the reform of the agency.

    He claimed that the report of the committee was submitted in 2007 and that the leadership of the agency accused him of not protecting them.

    Ikani averred that he had borne the brunt of several persecution by the agency, including the alleged plan to retire him in 2010 on the ground “on the untenable ground that I was not entitled to return to service after serving as Attorney- general of Kogi State”.

    He further averred that when he became aware of the plan to retire him from service, he instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos in suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 and sought various declaratory and injunctive reliefs against the first and second respondents and two others to which, he said, they responded by filing a counter affidavit in opposition to the originating summon.

    Ikani submitted that the court restrained the respondents from interfering or obstructing him in the performance of his duty in the NDLEA, adding that on the threat of committal for disobedience of the order of the Federal High Court, he was reinstated to the service of the second respondent in a letter dated November 23, 2010 while the suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 was transferred to the NIC.

    The applicant stated that his persecution and witch-hunting continued in the agency as the defendants forwarded a complaint containing allegation of “disobedience to order and falsehood/prevarication” against him to the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee  (SSDC), describing the allegations as “spurious and unfounded and constituted part of the vendetta and persecution embarked upon by the first respondent to achieve the objective of finding new grounds for relieving me of my position in the second respondent”.

    Ikani claimed to have again approached the Federal High Court in 2013 where Justice Kurya made an order of interim injunction restraining SSDC from adjudicating on the complaints and allegations against him by the first and second respondents pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    He averred that while the order is still subsisting and the case still pending, the respondents allegedly decided to suspend him again from duty pending the hearing and determination of suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 and that the decision was conveyed to him in the letter dated February 16, this year.

    Ikani averred that he was not  aware of the decision by the respondents to suspend him from duty without pay. He added that his employers had no power to do so without affording him the opportunity to be heard. He described it as a violation of his right to fair hearing  and access to justice.

  • NDLEA official held for allegedly importing 2.7kg cocaine

    NDLEA official held for allegedly importing 2.7kg cocaine

    An official with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was Thursday arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged trafficking of cocaine.

    The accused, Adeogun Ogunyemi was brought before Justice Saliu Saidu, alongside one Adams Micheal a.k.a. Chidi by the NDLEA.

    They were alleged to have conspired among themselves to import 2.692 kilograms of the banned substance into the country between January and March.

    The court heard that the accused persons committed the offence at the International Mail Processing Centre, NACHO, International Airport, Ikeja.

    They were arraigned on a four count charge, bordering on drug trafficking punishable under Sections 14(b) and 11(a) of the NDLEA Act.

    However, the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, prompting the NDLEA to plead that the duo be remanded in its custody pending the completion of investigation.

    His prayer was objected to by the defense counsel, Chief Benson, who told the court that the duo have been detained since March.

    After listening to the parties, Justice Saidu in a bench ruling ordered that the accused persons be remanded in NDLEA custody for seven days and adjourned the matter to May 14.

  • NDLEA arrests two in Enugu for alleged drug peddling

    NDLEA arrests two in Enugu for alleged drug peddling

    Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two persons at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu for drug trafficking.

    One of the suspects, Daniel Lanre Akintola, 43, was found with 1.978kg of heroin concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. Another suspect, Onwuegbusi Tochukwu Victor, 48, was arrested with 51.5kg of ephedrine in his luggage.

    The NDLEA commander, Mr. Nsikak-Abasi Udoh, said the 43-year-old pastor wanted to abandon his luggage at the arrival hall for fear of arrest.

    “Mr. Daniel Lanre Akintola unlawfully possessed 1.978kg of heroin while returning from Entebbe, a town in Central Uganda. He wanted to abandon the luggage but we detected his intention.

    “The drug was carefully concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. The second suspect is a businessman who had parcels of ephedrine weighing 51.5kg, which he wanted to smuggle to Maputo, Mozambique.

    “The suspects are being investigated,” Udoh said.

    Akintola, an indigene of Oyo State, said he was returning from a pastor’s conference.

    “I am a pastor with Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Olayemi Assembly, Ipaja, Lagos. I attended a minister’s conference in Uganda. The bag where heroin was found is mine but I am a pastor and not a drug trafficker.”

    Akintola, who lives in Lagos, could not produce evidence of attending a minister’s conference in Uganda. He did not give any reason for leaving Entebbe, Uganda, en-route Addis Ababa to Enugu.

    Victor said he was asked to take the bag of ephedrine to Mozambique for 2,500 dollars. “I am a business man but I got stranded after customs seized my goods.

    “They paid for my return ticket that the recipient of the bag in Maputo will give me $2,500. I would have invested the money in import business,” Victor said. He hails from Anambra State.

    The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, said there is no hiding place for drug traffickers.

    “Drug traffickers have no hiding place. Unless they quit their criminal act, the law will take its course.

    “I appeal to the public to report drug dealers to the nearest NDLEA office,” Giade said.

  • NDLEA arrests another pastor with heroin

    Few weeks after a Lagos-based pastor was arrested at the Murtala International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, for smuggling narcotics to South Africa, officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport,Enugu, have arrested another Lagos pastor for drug trafficking.

    The suspect, Daniel Lanre Akintola, 43, was found with 1.978kg of heroin concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. Another suspect, Onwuegbusi Tochukwu Victor, 48, was also found with 51.5kg of ephedrine inside his luggage.

    NDLEA commander at the Enugu Airport, Mr. Nsikak-Abasi Udoh, said that the 43-year-old pastor wanted to abandon his luggage at the arrival hall for fear of arrest.

    “Mr. Daniel Lanre Akintola unlawfully possessed 1.978kg of heroin while returning from Entebbe, a major town in Central Uganda. He wanted to abandon the luggage but we detected his intention.

    “The drug was carefully concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. The second suspect is a businessman who had parcels of ephedrine weighing 51.5kg which he wanted to smuggle to Maputo, Mozambique.

    “The suspects are being investigated,” Udoh stated.

    Akintola, who claimed ownership of the bag containing heroin, said he was returning from a pastor’s conference.

     

     

  • NDLEA arrests two for ‘drug ingestion’

    NDLEA arrests two for ‘drug ingestion’

    A timber merchant, Olusegun Ojo (59) and an electronics dealer, Igweibuike Obinna (47), are in the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) net for alleged drug trafficking.

    They were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, during their trips to the United States (U.S) and United Kingdom (U.K)

    Ojo was caught during the outward screening of passengers on a Delta Airline flight to New York, U.S; Obinna was nabbed on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow in London.

    NDLEA airport commander Hamza Umar said preliminary investigation showed that Ojo, who hails from Ilesa, Osun State, ingested 75 wraps of substances that tested positive for heroin weighing 1.090kg. Obinna, from Anambra State inserted six wraps in his anus and ingested 11 wraps making a total of 17 wraps of cocaine weighing 335 gramms.

    Ojo said his involvement in drug trafficking was due to financial hardship.

    “I am married to two wives with five children. My problem started in 2013 when I lost N2 million to fraudsters. In the process, I became indebted and had been running from pillar to post without any solution. A young man introduced me into drug trafficking to enable me pay my debts. Initially, I dismissed the suggestion but when my condition was not getting better, I decided to take the risk. The $10, 000 they promised me would have gone a long way in solving my problem. This is my first time of smuggling drugs,” Ojo said.

    Obinna said he would have made N1 million from the deal.

    “I sell electronics at Alaba market in Lagos. I agreed to smuggle drugs because I would have made N1 million to invest in my business. I also needed money to take care of my family. I am married with two children,” he said.

    NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade said it was gladdening that the number of arrests has reduced on the U.S. and U.K. routes, adding: “We are working very hard to replicate similar feats on others.”

  • Four egest 171 wraps of cocaine at airport

    Four egest 171 wraps of cocaine at airport

    Four suspected traffickers have egested 171 wraps of cocaine after being placed under observation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    The suspects, according to NDLEA, tested positive for cocaine ingestion and were placed under observation until the drugs were expelled.

    NDLEA Lagos Airport commander Hamza Umar said the suspects swallowed 171 wraps of cocaine weighing 4.19kg.

    Umar said: “One Ejiofor Eliezer (46) ingested 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.155kg.  This is the highest single ingestion since January 2015. Obah Ifeanyi Francis (30) ingested 40 wraps weighing 740 grammes while Akpa Cornelus Sobuzochukwu (27) ingested 26 wraps weighing 445 grammes. Another suspect, Ike Vincent Okechukwu (36) swallowed 5 wraps weighing 85 grammes.”

    Umar said Eliezer and Francis were caught during screening of passengers on an Emirates flight; Sobuzochukwu and Okechukwu were nabbed during screening of passengers on a Qatar airline flight.

    Ejiofor, who lived in Brazil for two years, attributed his involvement in drug trafficking to poverty.

    He said: “I live in Brazil where I work in a supermarket and I am married with four children. Life in Brazil is tough because I live from hand to mouth. I have no savings, in fact it was poverty that made me to smuggle drugs. I took risk by swallowing 100 wraps of cocaine for N200, 000 because of poverty.”

    Francis, also from Anambra State, said he wanted to make quick money from cocaine trafficking but his friend disappointed him.

    “I have been working in Brazil for two years. At present, I work in a bakery and my salary is meagre. My plan was to give the drug to a friend in Dubai but he did not come to collect the drug as planned. This was how I had to come to Nigeria with the drug. I blame my friend for my arrest because I would have made 15,000 US dollars from the deal,” he said.

    Sobuzochukwu, who holds a diploma in accounting, said he was frustrated working as a cleaner with poor salary.

    “I hold a diploma in Accounting from the Institute of Management Technology, Enugu. I travelled to Brazil in search of better job but I ended up as a cleaner in a train station. My father is sick and I cannot afford return ticket to Nigeria let alone pay the hospital bill. I know I made a big mistake but I smuggled cocaine out of frustration. I would have been paid 1,500 US dollars,” he said.

    Okechukwu said he was arrested because he made a mistake.

    He said: “My arrest was a miscalculation. I thought that the five wraps of cocaine will not be detected. I regret my involvement in drug trafficking. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School class two and I work in a toy company in Brazil.”

     

  • ‘Frustration led me to drug trafficking’

    ‘Frustration led me to drug trafficking’

    •Suspect relives why he became courier

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested six persons at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, with 16.51kg of narcotics.

    The drugs include 10.27kg of cannabis, 1.31kg of methamphetamine and 4.93kg of cocaine. Two of the suspects were bringing cocaine from Brazil; two were taking methamphetamine to Tanzania and South Africa; one was taking cannabis to Doha, Qatar and the only female among them was going to Madrid, Spain with cocaine.

    NDLEA commander at the airport Hamza Umar said one of the suspects was found with liquid cocaine in body cream; another excreted wraps of cocaine on a plane.

    “We just arrested six suspected traffickers with drugs weighing 16.51kg including liquid cocaine.

    The suspects are Nwodo Anthony found with 3.260kg of liquid cocaine concealed in body cream from Brazil and Ikebalum Ogochukwu, who excreted 36 wraps of cocaine weighing 570 grammes.

    Madu Okey was caught with 975 grammes of methamphetamine while going to Tanzania. Nnadobe Anthony’s attempt to smuggle 335 grammes of methamphetamine to South Africa failed.

    Okoye Kelvin was caught smuggling 10.27kg of cannabis to Doha; the female suspect, Nwaokolo Omari was caught exporting 1.670kg of cocaine to Madrid.

    Okey (54) said he is a novice in drug trafficking.

    “I own a boutique in Nairobi, Kenya. My friend lured me into drug trafficking. This is my first time and I was arrested due to my inexperience. I regret my action”.

    Omari (32), mother of three, said she wanted to make quick money but was not lucky.

    “I buy and sell clothes. I lived in Spain for about a decade. I came back to Nigeria because of financial hardship. I do not have enough money to go back to Spain. This was how I found myself in drug trafficking. The most painful aspect of my arrest is that I told my friend to look after my children for a few days. By my calculation, I thought I could quickly smuggle the drugs to Spain and return within one week. I felt so bad when the drug was detected at the airport,” she said.

    Ogochukwu (31) said his problem started when he excreted cocaine while on the flight.

    “Life has been difficult for me. I met a Brazilian who decided to assist me. He gave me cocaine and paid for my ticket to Nigeria. He promised to pay me N1 million to start any business of my choice. My problem began when I excreted the drugs while on the flight,” he said.

    Anthony (32) said: “A friend gave me a bag to send to South Africa. When I got to the airport, 11 sachets of methamphetamine were found inside the foodstuff. That was how I got involved. Now I am suffering alone while my friend is on the run.”

    Nnamdi (37) said he has no regrets for his action.

    “I have worked and suffered as a casual labourer in Doha for two years and I was desperate to change my status. When you are frustrated, you can do anything. I took a risk but I was not lucky,” he said.

  • NDLEA arrests 11 at Seme border

    NDLEA arrests 11 at Seme border

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 11 persons at the Seme Border for alllegedly importing 53.41 kilograms of canabis sativa, a banned narcotic, from Ghana.

    Its commander at the border, Mr Udotong Essien, said $23,915 US (N4.7million) cash was seized from the suspects.

    Essien, who spoke in his office in Badagry, Lagos, said the suspects were arrested between January 23 and last Monday.

    According to him, the command would intensify effort to rid the country of banned narcotics, warning perpetrators that there is no hiding place for them.

    Essien said: “This command will construct a wall too high for them (drug traffickers) to climb. The drug war under me must be won because our intelligence network  spreads across our boundaries, so there is no hiding place for them.’’

    He said three of the suspects have been tried and jailed; the others have been charged. He added that five drug dependent persons (addicts) were counselled on the dangers of substance abuse and trafficking.

    Essien attributed his command’s success to the leadership of NDLEA chairman Alhaji Ahmadu Giade; his officers’ commitment, the cooperation of traditional rulers in the border area and collaboration with other agencies, such as, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the West African Joint Operation (WAJO).

    According to him, Nigeria, which used to be rated as one of Africa’s drug trafficking nations, is now known for its leading role against the menace.

    The command’s officer-in-charge of operations, Muhammed Aminu, said some of the drugs were concealed in Golden Penny Noodles cartoons, Dangote Cement sacks, school and polythene bags, detergent packs and brown envelopes.