NDLEA Arraigns 4-Man Syndicate For Unlawful Importation Of Hard Drugs
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) today, arraigned a four-man hard drug syndicate, before a Lagos Federal High Court, for unlawful importation of banned substances.
The four men arraigned before Justice Daniel Osiagor were: Ogunmeru Oluwafemi Oluwafunsho, 49; Adewale Yusuf Adegbeti, 42; Adeleke Abdulrazaq, 43 and 22 years old Dairo Quam.
The defendants, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Augustine Nwagu, were arrested on March 10, 2023, at SAHCO import shed of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, during the inward clearance of Cargo on Ethiopian Airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa.
The prosecutor told the court that all the defendants conspired among themselves to illegal and unlawfully export to the country, 11.90 Kilogrames of Heroin and 500 grammes of Cannabis Sativa.
He told the court that the defendants committed the offences with one Zainab Morenikeji Agbaje, said to be at large.
The prosecutor told the court that the offences committed by the defendants contravened sections 14(b) and 11(a)of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their plea of not guilty, the prosecutor, Mr. Nwagu, asked the court for a trial date. And urged the court to remand them in prison till the determination of the charge against them.
However, their lawyers, Chief Benson Ndakara and Uche Okoronkwo, urged the court to admit bail to the clients in the most liberal terms, as they have credible sureties that can stand for them.
Ndakara particularly told the court that his clients, Ogunmeru Oluwafemi Oluwafunsho and Adewale Yusuf Adegbeti, are suffering from ailments that cannot be handle by the correctional services.
However, the prosecutor, vehemently opposed the application that the defendants be remanded at his agency’s custody, on the ground that once a plea had been taken, the best place to remand the defendant is correctional facility.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor, admitted bail to each of the defendants in the sum of N5 million with one surety each.
He also ordered that the surety must be a Grade Level 14 officer and above, and that both the defendants and their surety must submit three passport photographs to the court’s registrars.
The judge however remanded the defendants in the NDLEA custody till Tuesday, to perfect the bail terms, after which they will be transferred to correctional facility.
The defendants’ trial has been adjourned till November 1.
