Court Jails Couple 22 Years For Drug Trafficking
Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court 8 in Lagos has sentenced a couple Ajah Johnson Uchenna and Rosemary Uchenna to 22 years imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs.
They were arrested on 13th June by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Ojo area of the state and transferred to NDLEA along with 277.5kg skunk, a strain of cannabis.
While they were still being investigated in custody, credible intelligence revealed that the family business was going on in their house.
This led to a raid of their home and a packing store where 231kg of same substance was recovered by NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 1st July.
They were subsequently arraigned before the court in suit number FHC/L/632C/2025 on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, dealing and storage of 414.2 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
Delivering his judgement on the case, Justice Dipeolu convicted Rosemary Uchenna on counts 1, 2, and 3 and sentenced her to 17 years imprisonment without an option of fine.
Her husband, Johnson Ajah Uchenna, was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment without option of fine on count one, and six months in jail on count 4, but with an option of N1 million fine.
In addition to the jail terms, the trial judge ordered the forfeiture of Three Million, Four Hundred and Seven Thousand Naira recovered from the couple to the Federal Government.
In a related development, a Federal High Court in Kano presided by Justice Simon Amobeda has convicted and sentenced a 42-year-old Indian woman, Neetu Neetu to five years imprisonment for importing 72 parcels of heroin factory sealed and packaged as chocolates.
She was caught with heroine weighing 11 kilograms concealed in he luggage when she arrived Nigeria through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand via Vietnam and Doha on 14th March 2025.
She was subsequently arraigned in suit number FHC/KN/CR/65/2025 before Justice Amobeda who eventually sentenced her to 10 years on two counts with an option of N2 million fine.
Also, the NDLEA has secured the conviction of a 42-year-old Angolan businessman Mbala Dajou Abuba, who was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison by Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court in Kano.
Abuba had ingested 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms, and was arrested on Tuesday 25th February 2025 at the screening point of the Kano airport while trying to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul, Turkey via Cairo.
In Enugu, the Federal High Court also convicted another drug trafficker, Eze Christian Ikenna, on two counts of unlawful trafficking and possession of 11.20 kilograms of cocaine.
He was arrested on January 20, 2023 by NDLEA operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, upon arrival from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with 11.20 kilograms of cocaine concealed in herbal tea sachets.
Eze was subsequently arraigned before Justice M. G. Umar, who sentenced him to three years imprisonment on each count, totalling six years, while the sentence will run concurrently, effective from May 20, 2023.
In another high impact success in the war against illicit drug trafficking, the NDLEA has secured the final forfeiture of a multi-billion Naira 80-room Hotel and Lounge in Victoria Island Lagos linked to an illicit drug trafficking cartel along with other assets.
The 80-room hotel in Victoria Island Lagos used as cover for distributing illicit substances was raided between Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April 2025 by NDLEA operatives who after hours of combing the rooms recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 417.3 kilograms worth One Billion Forty-Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira in street value.
The forfeiture order issued by Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala also included a Toyota Sienna car, Volkswagen delivery van, a KIA Ceranto car, Land Cruiser Prado jeep, a Grand Caravan Dodge, a Mazda bus, Mercedes Benz truck, a Toyota Corolla car, a Sienna Mini Bus, 84 Television sets, 70 new air conditioners, and 13 new fridges.
