Drug Trafficking

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Freeman Charles Ogbonna, a Delhi, India-bound passenger, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking. 

Ogbonna was arrested on Sunday, March 31, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after ingesting 80 wraps of cocaine. 

He was taken into custody by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the screening point of Terminal 2 of the airport.

Preliminary checks revealed that Ogbonna was using a Liberian international passport named Carr Bismark. 

However, further investigation revealed his real identity as Freeman Charles Ogbonna. He was subsequently placed under observation in NDLEA custody, where he exhibited discomfort.

Ogbonna eventually vomited and excreted the drugs over four days, passing out a total of 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 889 grams through his mouth and anus. 

He claimed that he was recruited into drug trafficking by one of his relatives and was promised N300,000 if he successfully delivered the consignment in India.

The NDLEA arraigned Ogbonna before Justice Dipeolu Deinde Isaac of the Federal High Court in Lagos on a charge of committing an offence contrary to section 20(1)(b) and punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 LFN 2004.

In his judgement, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ogbonna to 25 years in prison without an option of a fine. 

The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the MMIA Command and the prosecution team for their diligent case handling.

Marwa stated that the judiciary remains a strong pillar in the effort to curb substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria. 

He added that Ogbonna’s conviction would send a strong signal to drug barons and their mules that there would be no hiding place for them.

By Uzair Adam Imam

There was a gun battle between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and drug traffickers in Lagos that lasted for about thirty minutes on Thursday.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, stated this in a statement he issued to journalists on Sunday.

Babafemi added that acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives had laid an ambush on the traffickers along the Eleko Beach road in Lekki and at 4:51 am on Thursday.

He further stated that two long trucks conveying the illicit consignments were flagged down, but rather than stopped, the trucks escorted by armed men sped off, as a result of which there was an exchange of gunfire that lasted 30 minutes

He stated that “After they were overpowered by the NDLEA operatives, the truck drivers and their armed escorts escaped into the bush, abandoning the trucks and the drug consignments.

“While one of the trucks painted red has 149 jumbo bags weighing 6,548kgs, the second one with blue colour has 53 big bags with a weight of 2,304kgd, bringing the total number of bags to 202 and gross weight of both to 8,852kgs.

“Meanwhile, operatives are already on the trail of the drug lord who shipped the illicit consignment into the country,” Babafemi said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) states that it has seized 100 million pills of the prescription painkiller Tramadol in just 22 months.

The agency estimated the combined value of the cash and illegal narcotics to be about N450 billion. In addition, the agency detained 29 drug lords, while detaining 23,907 drug traffickers.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman of the NDLEA, said this in a statement released on Tuesday through the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Marwa said the confiscated Tramadol may have had a negative influence on the youth population and the nation’s productivity.

He said this during the Commands’ Awards/Commendations and Decoration of newly promoted officers at the Agency’s National Headquarters, Abuja.

Marwa said, “Within the period under review, the Agency arrested 23, 907 drug traffickers including 29 barons.

“Our seizure was over 5,500 tons or 5.5 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, which together with cash seized are worth over N450 billion.

“In the same period, we have taken the fight to the doorsteps of cannabis growers by destroying 772. 5 hectares of cannabis farms. In these 22 months, we have record convictions of 3, 434 offenders. We have equally made good strides in our drug demand reduction efforts where the number of those counselled and rehabilitated is 16, 114.

“The figures are mere statistics until you view them through the lens of human impact and the good or harm that could have come to society, the impact on public health, security as well as law and order if those dangerous drugs had gone to the street. Take, for instance, the one hundred million pills of tramadol seized in the past 22 months.

“If those pills had gone into circulation and ended up in the hands of young people, it would take a heavy toll on lives, families, productivity and, ultimately, the GDP of the country because it will affect these young people who are the engine room of productivity.

“We usually calculate our performance as monthly, quarterly or yearly appraisals. But drug law enforcement is generally a continuum, hence, I am wont to always appraise our efforts from January 2021, when we began far-reaching reforms, reviewed our strategies and rejigged the existing systems to accommodate innovations.

“From then till now, we have been on an upward trajectory. And indeed, what we have done in the last 22 months, from January 2021 to October 2022, based on the available statistics, is cause for celebration.”