Three Drug Kingpins, 16 Others Sentenced to 302 Years for Trafficking
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has secured a total of 302 years of imprisonment for three major drug kingpins and 16 other individuals involved in trafficking and dealing in illicit substances, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids.
According to a statement released on Friday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the 19 convicts are part of a larger group of 414 drug traffickers and dealers who were convicted by the Federal High Court across several states, including Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, between July 1st and 31st, 2024, based on charges filed by the agency.
One of the key offenders, 50-year-old Bolanle Dauda, was arrested during an intelligence-led operation by a special NDLEA unit along the Lagos-Badagry expressway on May 25th, 2024, as he attempted to cross the border to Ghana with a drug consignment. Upon his arrest, NDLEA operatives seized 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms. A subsequent search of his residence in Agbara, Ogun State, led to the discovery of an additional 10 kilograms of cocaine, bringing the total seizure to 57.5 kilograms. Dauda was later arraigned before Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos and was sentenced on July 19th, 2024, to 21 years in prison or an option of a N30 million fine.
Another convicted kingpin, 34-year-old Ikeh Ifeanyi, was apprehended at the bustling Idumota market on Lagos Island, where he was found with 1,100 ampoules of fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic opioid weighing 6.48 kilograms. Fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than heroin, has been linked to a significant number of overdose deaths, particularly in the United States. Ifeanyi was charged and convicted by Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 4th, 2024, receiving a 14-year sentence or an option of a N2 million fine.
Christian Anyanwu, another offender, was arrested on November 26th, 2022, with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in custard tins among foodstuffs destined for Brazil via a Qatar Airways flight. He was subsequently convicted by Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 12th, 2024, and sentenced to 16 years in prison, four of which are mandatory without an option of fine.
Other notable convictions in July include Moses Yakubu, sentenced to 25 years by Justice Rita Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 22nd, 2024, and Oluosun Okikiola, who received a 15-year sentence on July 17th, 2024, from Justice A.A. Okeke of the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Additionally, Chanchan Terpase was sentenced to seven years in prison by Justice R.J. Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Makurdi, Benue State, on July 9th, 2024, and Beauty Gani was sentenced to 30 years in prison or an option of an N8 million fine by Justice C.O. Obiozor of the Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, on July 3rd, 2024.
Commending the efforts of the NDLEA officers involved in these arrests and the judiciary for their swift adjudication, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), stated that these convictions would strengthen the agency’s efforts to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in Nigeria.
