August 05, (THEWILL) — A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced businessman Ajah Johnson Uchenna and his wife, Rosemary, to a total of 22 and a half years’ imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu handed down the sentences on Monday, August 4, 2025.
According to a statement signed on Tuesday by Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the couple was first arrested on Friday, June 13, by operatives of the Department of State Services in the Ojo area of Lagos State.
They were transferred to the NDLEA along with 277.5kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
While still in custody under investigation, intelligence revealed that drug activities were ongoing at their residence.
This led to a follow-up raid on their home and a store, where operatives recovered an additional 231kg of the same substance on Tuesday, July 1.
They were arraigned in case number FHC/L/632C/2025 before the Federal High Court in Lagos on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, dealing, and storage of 414.2 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
Delivering judgment, Justice Dipeolu convicted Rosemary Uchenna on counts 1, 2, and 3 and sentenced her to 17 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
Her husband, Johnson Ajah Uchenna, was convicted on count 1 and sentenced to five years in prison without the option of a fine, and on count 4, he received a six-month jail term with the option of a N1 million fine.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the sum of N3,407,000 recovered from the couple as proceeds of crime to the Federal Government.
In a similar case, a Federal High Court in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda convicted and sentenced a 42-year-old Indian woman, Neetu Neetu, to five years’ imprisonment for importing 72 parcels of heroin, weighing 11 kilograms, into Nigeria through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The consignment, disguised as chocolate and factory-sealed wafer wraps, was discovered during a search of her luggage on Friday, March 14, 2025.
She arrived on Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand via Vietnam and Doha. Neetu was arraigned in case number FHC/KN/CR/65/2025 and sentenced to 10 years on two counts with the option of a N2 million fine.
Also in Kano, a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, was sentenced to five years in prison by Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court following his arrest by NDLEA for ingesting 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms.
Abuba was intercepted on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at the screening point of the Kano airport while attempting to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul, Turkey, via Cairo.
In Enugu, another drug trafficker, Eze Christian Ikenna, was convicted on two counts of unlawful trafficking and possession of 11.20 kilograms of cocaine.
He was arrested on January 20, 2023, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport upon arrival from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the drug concealed in herbal tea sachets. Ikenna was arraigned before Justice M. G.
Umar of the Federal High Court, Enugu, in case number FHC/EN/CS/9/2023 and sentenced to three years on each count, to run concurrently, effective from May 20, 2023.
In another major breakthrough in its war against drug trafficking, the NDLEA secured the final forfeiture of a multi-billion Naira, 80-room hotel and lounge in Victoria Island, Lagos, linked to a drug trafficking cartel.
The hotel was raided between April 25 and 26, 2025, during which operatives recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 417.3 kilograms and valued at N1.042 billion in street value.
Assets forfeited alongside the hotel located at No. 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street off Elsie Femi Pearse Road, Victoria Island, include a Toyota Sienna vehicle with plate number KJA 79 HJ, a Volkswagen Delivery Van marked AAA 525 JE, a KIA Cerato car with registration number BDG 860 GQ, a black Land Cruiser Prado with plate number AKD 472 DZ, a red Grand Caravan Dodge with registration number APP 847 YF, a white Mazda Bus marked KTU 241 AAA, a Mercedes Benz truck registered as ASB 500 XY, a gold Toyota Corolla with plate number EKY 295 JT, an ash-coloured Sienna Mini Bus, 84 television sets, 70 new air conditioners, and 13 new fridges.
The final forfeiture orders were granted on Friday, July 18, 2025, by Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala following a motion filed by the NDLEA in case number FHC/L/MISC/447/2025.
Reacting to the various convictions and forfeiture rulings, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s commands and operatives for diligent prosecution, while applauding the judiciary for delivering swift judgments that strengthen the agency’s deterrent efforts.
“Nothing serves the cause of justice more than when criminal elements are given long jail terms and made to forfeit all they have acquired through the proceeds of their illicit drug trade.
“We are happy with these judicial pronouncements, which will not only encourage our officers to do more but will also have a lasting impact on our drug control efforts,” Marwa said.
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