Court Sends Two Nigerian Drug Barons To Life Imprisonment

Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince, have bagged life imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja over cocaine trafficking.

While confirming this in a statement on Sunday, April 28, 2024, Director, Media & Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said the sentences bring an end to their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the anti-narcotics agency.

,,,,,,,,,The statement further revealed that, 43-year-old businessman Uwaezuoke’s journey to a lifetime in jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on 19th March 2022 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after he was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms.

However, he was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty. He thereafter absconded, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.

,,,,,,,,,In a curious twist, Uwaezuoke was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi. He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023. He pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of 1.5 million naira.

After paying the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him.