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The Federal High Court in Lagos and Yola, Adamawa State have convicted and sentenced four drug kingpins: Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi, Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (a.k.a Don) and Zidon Zurga, to a total of 95 years in prison for trafficking cocaine and skunk worth over N4.6 billion.
Ogbuji was intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on the 18th September 2024 during an inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight passengers from Addis Ababa to Lagos for importing 817 wraps of cocaine weighing 19.40 kilograms with an estimated street value of N4, 656,000,000.00.
He was arraigned before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court Lagos on 16th January 2025. He was eventually sentenced on 28th February to five years imprisonment on count one with an option of seven million naira fine and 10 years imprisonment on count two without an option of fine. In the event that he failed to pay the N7million fine, the judge ruled that the convict would serve a total of 15 years in jail consecutively. The court ordered the forfeiture of monetary exhibits and other items found on him at the time of his arrest.
In his own case, 51-year old Iloduba was arrested by NDLEA operatives on the 31st December 2021 at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for cocaine trafficking.
He was thereafter arraigned on two counts before Justice Folashade Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Enugu.
After three years of diligent prosecution, Iludoba was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, bringing his total years in jail to 10 years, which will run concurrently from the date of his conviction, Wednesday 5th March 2025.
Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (a.k.a Don), 55; and Zidon Zurga, 50, were arrested by NDLEA operatives on 25th November 2024 along Numan- Yola road with 500.800kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in a pilot Toyota Hilux vehicle marked Lagos NT 829 AAA and a Prado SUV with a fake presidency number plate 01B-266 FG.
They were later arraigned before Justice Bala Usman and sentenced on 7th February 2025 to 35 years imprisonment each on two counts, bringing the combined years in jail for both of them to 70 years, or they pay a fine of N25 million each. The court also ordered the interim forfeiture of the two SUVs used in trafficking the illicit drug consignment.
