By Joke Kujenya
NINETEEN DRUG traffickers, including three notorious kingpins, have received a combined 302 years in prison for their involvement in Nigeria’s illicit drug trade.
Various Federal High Courts across the country delivered these sentences between July 1st and 31st, 2024, after successful prosecutions by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
One of the convicted kingpins, 50-year-old Bolanle Lookman Dauda, was arrested during an NDLEA-led operation on May 25th, 2024.
Dauda was caught along the Lagos-Badagry expressway, attempting to smuggle a large consignment of cocaine into Ghana.
The arrest yielded 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms.
A subsequent search of his residence in Ogun State uncovered an additional eight blocks, bringing the total seizure to 57.5 kilograms.
Dauda was later sentenced to 21 years in prison by Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos, with an option to pay a fine of N30 million.
Another high-profile conviction involves 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi, who was caught with 1,100 ampoules of the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, weighing 6.480 kilograms, at the Idumota market in Lagos.
Fentanyl, known to be 100 times more potent than heroin, has been linked to a significant number of overdose deaths.
Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos, sentenced Ifeanyi to 14 years in prison, with an option of a N2 million fine, on July 4th, 2024.
Christian Anyanwu, who attempted to traffic 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine to Brazil via Doha, was arrested on November 26th, 2022, and convicted on July 12th, 2024.
Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, sentenced him to 16 years in prison, with four years mandatory without the possibility of a fine.
Other convictions include Moses Yakubu, sentenced to 25 years in prison by Justice Rita Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja, and Oluosun Okikiola, who received a 15-year sentence from Justice A. A. Okeke of the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In Benue State, Justice R.J. Abubakar sentenced Chanchan Terpase to seven years in prison, while in Edo State, Justice C.O. Obiozor sentenced Beauty Gani to 30 years in prison or an N8 million fine.
In his usual way, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s officers and the judiciary for their swift and decisive actions.
He emphasized that these convictions will significantly bolster efforts to reduce the drug supply in the country.
