No fewer than 19 individuals, including three notorious drug lords, have been sentenced to a total of 302 years in prison for various drug trafficking offenses.
The convictions were handed down by Federal High Courts in multiple locations across Nigeria.
The convicts were found guilty of trafficking dangerous drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids.
Mr. Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), announced on Friday that the 19 convicts are among 414 drug offenders who were convicted by the courts between July 1 and 31, 2024.
The NDLEA secured these convictions in courts across Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and Abuja after filing charges against the offenders.
The statement read, “Three drug kingpins and 16 other offenders have been convicted and sentenced to a cumulative 302 years in prison for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs, following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the NDLEA.”
One of the convicted drug lords, 50-year-old Bolanle Dauda, was arrested on May 25, 2024, by NDLEA operatives during a targeted raid near the Lagos-Badagry expressway. Dauda attempted to smuggle a large consignment of drugs into Ghana.
He was found with 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms. A follow-up operation at his residence in Ogun State led to the recovery of an additional eight blocks of cocaine, bringing the total to 57.5 kilograms. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison or a N30 million fine by Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Another kingpin, 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi, was arrested at Idumota market in Lagos Island with 1,100 ampoules of fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid responsible for numerous overdose deaths.
Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced Ifeanyi to 14 years in jail or a N2 million fine.
The third drug lord, Christian Anyanwu, was caught attempting to smuggle 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in custard tins bound for Brazil.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison by Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, with a mandatory minimum of four years without the option of a fine.
Other offenders received varying sentences, including Moses Yakubu, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and Oluosun Okikiola, who received 15 years in jail.
Justice C.O. Obiozor of the Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, sentenced Ms. Beauty Gani to 30 years in prison or a fine of N8 million.
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