Drug Lords, Others Sentenced To 302 Years Imprisonment

Three drug kingpins, along with 16 other offenders, have been sentenced to a combined total of 302 years in prison for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids.

These sentences followed their arrests and subsequent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the convictions were handed down by the Federal High Court in Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory between July 1st and 31st, 2024. In total, 414 drug traffickers and dealers were convicted during this period.

One of the key figures, 50-year-old Bolanle Lookman Dauda, was arrested in an intelligence-led raid by NDLEA operatives along the Lagos-Badagry expressway as he attempted to cross the border into Ghana on May 25, 2024. Dauda was found with 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms. A follow-up operation at his residence in Ogun State uncovered an additional eight blocks of cocaine, bringing the total to 57.5 kilograms. Dauda was subsequently sentenced to 21 years in prison by Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, with an option of a ₦30 million fine.

Another convicted kingpin, 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi, was arrested at the Idumota market in Lagos with 1,100 ampoules of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for numerous overdose deaths in the United States. Ifeanyi was sentenced to 14 years in prison by Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos, with an option of a ₦2 million fine.

Christian Anyanwu was also sentenced after being arrested on November 26, 2022, with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins, which were being shipped to Brazil via Doha. Anyanwu received a 16-year prison sentence from Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, with four years being mandatory without the option of a fine.

Other notable convictions include Moses Yakubu, sentenced to 25 years by Justice Rita Ajumogobia in Abuja; Oluosun Okikiola, sentenced to 15 years by Justice A.A. Okeke in Abeokuta, Ogun State; Chanchan Terpase, sentenced to seven years by Justice R.J. Abubakar in Makurdi, Benue State; and Beauty Gani, sentenced to 30 years or an ₦8 million fine by Justice C.O. Obiozor in Benin, Edo State.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s officers for their efforts in these cases and commended the judiciary for its swift action, noting that these convictions will strengthen the agency’s drug supply reduction efforts.