Court Jails 4 Drug Kingpins for 28 Years, Orders Forfeiture Of VGC House, Others
- Four drug kingpins have been sentenced to various jail terms totaling twenty-eight (28) years with hard labour
- Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos also ordered the forfeiture of houses and money to the federal government
- The trial judge gave the judgement after over two years of diligent prosecution after the convicts were arrested in connection with the historic seizure in 2022
TheTalk.NG journalist Adekunle Dada has over 7 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events
Lagos state – Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has sentenced four drug kingpins to various jail terms totaling twenty-eight (28) years with hard labour.
The convicts were arrested in connection with the historic seizure of 2,139.55 kilograms of illicit drugs at an Ikorodu residential estate in 2022.
The convicts were arrested in Ikorodu in 2022
Photo credit: @ndlea_nigeriaSource: Twitter
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) identified the convicts as Soji Jubril Oke, 71; Wasiu Akinade, 55; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu, 67; and Kelvin Christopher Smith, 44, a Jamaican.
This was disclosed in a statement shared by the NDLEA via its X handle (formerly known as Twitter)@ndlea_nigeria.
The trial judge after over two years of diligent prosecution sentenced Smith to four years imprisonment with hard labour, Chukwu to 16 years, Oke to years with hard labour, and Akinade to three years with hard labour.
Justice Yellim Bogoro, however, gave the convicts varying options of fine with the exception of one of them who will serve his full jail term without an option of fine.
The court ordered the forfeiture of a grey colour Toyota Tacoma SUV, $50,000 USD, N55,099,509.50 belonging to Emmanuel Chukwu, N9,003,168.06 and N3,052,295.20 belonging to Wasiu Akinade.
The court secured the final forfeiture of two houses linked to members of the drug cartel – 6 Olokunola Street, Sholebo Estate, Ikorodu Lagos, Lagos State and Number J9, Road 3, Close 1, Victoria Garden City (VGC) Estate, Lagos, Lagos State.
“That an Order is granted directing the sale or disposal by any other means provided by law of the forfeited House/Landed Property by the Applicant and the payment of the proceeds therefrom to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Brazil-based Nigerian businessman arrested for swallowing drugs
Meanwhile, TheTalk.NG reported that Ezeokoli Sylva, a Nigerian living in Brazil, was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport after drugs were found hidden in his stomach
Under observation, he expelled 29 wraps of drugs, stating that he (Sylva) planned to sell the drugs in Nigeria to support his business.
The NDLEA reported additional busts, including 200 grams of drugs and pentazocine in Lagos, over 2,000 ampoules and Exol-5 pills in Kano, among others.
Source: TheTalk.NG
