March 07, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Courts in Lagos and Yola, Adamawa State, have sentenced four drug kingpins—Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi, Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (aka Don), and Zidon Zurga—to a combined 95 years in prison for trafficking cocaine and cannabis (skunk) worth over N4.6 billion.
A statement issued on Friday, by Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), revealed that Ogbuji was intercepted by operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 951 from Addis Ababa. He was found with 817 wraps of cocaine (19.40kg) valued at N4,656,000,000 (Four Billion Six Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Naira).
This arrest came barely 16 months after the 48-year-old businessman was convicted for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine. Initially arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, on May 10, 2023, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment or a N3,000,000 fine by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja (Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/192/2023). Ogbuji paid the fine and was released.
Undeterred, he was re-arrested at Lagos airport on September 18, 2024 and arraigned before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos (Charge No. FHC/L/845C) on January 16, 2025. On 28 February 2025, he received five years’ imprisonment (with a N7,000,000 fine option) on count one and 10 years without a fine option on count two. Failure to pay the fine results in a 15-year consecutive sentence. The court also ordered the forfeiture of monetary exhibits and items seized during his arrest.
Iloduba, 51, was arrested on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2021, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, after ingesting 58 cocaine wraps. He excreted 48 pellets in transit and 10 in NDLEA custody. Convicted on March 5, 2025 (Charge No. FHC/EN/CR/18/2022), Justice Folashade Giwa Ogunbanjo sentenced him to five years per count (10 years total, to run concurrently).
Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (55) and Zidon Zurga (50) were apprehended on November 25, 2024 on Numan-Yola Road with 500.8kg of skunk concealed in a Toyota Hilux (Lagos NT 829 AAA) and a Prado SUV (fake presidential plate: 01B-266 FG). Arraigned before Justice Bala Usman (Charge No. FHC/YL/150/2024), they were sentenced on February 7, 2025 to 35 years each (70 years combined) or a N25,000,000 fine each. Their vehicles were forfeited.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the courts and prosecution teams for their diligence, particularly the MMIA Strategic Command (Lagos), Akanu Ibiam International Airport Special Area Command (Enugu), and Adamawa State Command.
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