A Federal High Court in Lagos State, on Wednesday, ordered that a middle-aged man, Uche Ezeh, be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre after he pleaded guilty to charges of exporting 4.40 kilograms of cocaine and 11.50 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
He will remain in custody until December 12, 2025, when the court is expected to review the facts of the case and deliver judgment.
Ezeh was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on a four-count charge, marked FHC/L/30/2025, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
Before his arraignment, the prosecution applied to substitute Ezeh for another defendant, Ekeocha Anayo Nelson, who had previously been standing trial on the same allegations.
Prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Ekeocha’s discharge became necessary after investigators apprehended the principal drug trafficker, identified as Ezeh.
Justice Aneke consequently struck out Ekeocha’s name from the charge. Following the substitution, the prosecution requested permission for the amended charges to be read to Ezeh, a request that defence counsel P. U. Okenyi did not oppose.
The defendant pleaded guilty to all four counts.
According to the NDLEA, on November 5, 2024, Ezeh engaged Ekeocha Anayo Nelson to export 4.40 kilograms of cocaine concealed in food items during the examination of goods destined for the United Kingdom through Cologne, Germany, at the NAHCO Export Shed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
He was also accused of personally exporting the same quantity of cocaine on the same date and through the same airport facility.
The agency further alleged that on May 12, 2025, Ezeh recruited one Olowolehin Sunday Olabode to export 11.50 kilograms of cannabis sativa hidden in packs of plantain chips, again through the NAHCO Export Shed.
Prosecutors said he also exported the same quantity of cannabis that day without lawful authorisation.
The offences, according to the NDLEA, violate Sections 21(2)(d) and 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and are punishable under Sections 11(b) and 20(2)(a) of the same Act.
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