Follow Us on Google
By Lukman Olabiyi
The planned arraignment of three alleged Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians accused of operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State was stalled yesterday after the Federal High Court in Lagos adjourned the matter to July 10, 2026, following preliminary objections raised by the defence.
Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the new date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence over the court’s jurisdiction, service of the charge and the need for an independent interpreter for the foreign defendants.
The judge also ordered that the 10 defendants remain in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) pending their arraignment.
The defendants are Anochili Innocent, Juan Carlos Meza Torrero, Nemecio Martinez Felix, Jesus Lopez Valles, Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Egwuonwn Uchenna Victor, Igwe Abuchi Remus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, Omonughwa Kingsley Orike and Nwobum Emeka.
When the matter came up, NDLEA counsel, Buhari Abdullahi, informed the court that the agency had filed an 11-count charge against the defendants and sought leave for the charges to be read so they could enter their pleas.
However, defence counsel, Chief Benson Ndakara, opposed the commencement of the arraignment, arguing that the defendants had not been properly served with the charge and therefore could not be expected to take their pleas.
He submitted that adequate service of the charge is a fundamental requirement of a fair trial, insisting that the defendants must be given sufficient opportunity to study the allegations and prepare their defence.
Ndakara also challenged the jurisdiction of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, arguing that the alleged offences were committed in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and should properly be prosecuted before the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta.
He accused the NDLEA of engaging in “forum shopping” by choosing Lagos as the venue for the trial despite the existence of a competent Federal High Court in Ogun State, which he said had a closer connection to the alleged offences.
The defence further objected to the prosecution’s arrangement for a Spanish interpreter to assist the three Mexican defendants, arguing that an interpreter provided by the prosecuting agency could not be regarded as sufficiently independent or neutral.
In response, Abdullahi urged the court not to allow the objections to delay the proceedings.
He proposed that the court appoint an independent Spanish interpreter and suggested that the defence could engage its own observer to monitor the interpretation without participating in the proceedings.
On the issue of jurisdiction, the prosecutor argued that the objection was premature, maintaining that questions relating to venue should be considered after the defendants had taken their pleas.
The prosecution also drew the court’s attention to its pending application seeking an order to destroy the alleged clandestine methamphetamine laboratory, describing the facility as a serious environmental and public health hazard.
Abdullahi told the court that two NDLEA officers deployed to secure the laboratory had fallen ill since the defendants’ arrest in May and were receiving treatment, while residents of the surrounding community had continued to demand the immediate removal of the hazardous facility.
The defence opposed the application, arguing that until the defendants were arraigned, the court had not assumed jurisdiction over the substantive case and therefore lacked the legal basis to entertain the request.
After listening to both parties, Justice Kakaki adjourned the matter until July 10, 2026, for the commencement of trial and directed that the defendants remain in NDLEA custody.
The defendants were arrested following an NDLEA operation on May 16, 2026, during which operatives uncovered what the agency described as a “super clandestine” methamphetamine laboratory hidden inside a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.
According to the NDLEA, the operation resulted in the seizure of about 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals valued at more than $362 million, estimated at about N480 billion.
The agency alleged that the industrial-scale laboratory was jointly operated by a Nigerian drug cartel and Mexican methamphetamine experts involved in the production of large quantities of illicit drugs.
In the charge before the court, the NDLEA alleged that between February and May 16, 2026, the defendants conspired at various locations within Lagos State and elsewhere within the court’s jurisdiction to establish and operate a super clandestine laboratory for the manufacture of methamphetamine, contrary to Section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
