Justice Friday Ogazi of a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos will on September 9, 2026 deliver ruling on the bail application filed by a Nigerian returnee from Brazil, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu.
It would be recalled that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), had arraigned Ikechukwu for allegedly smuggling 6.1 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
Ikechukwu was dragged before the court on a one-count charge bordering on unlawful importation of narcotics.
Addressing the court, the counsel for the prosecution, Abu Ibrahim, said the defendant was intercepted on June 11, 2026, at Gate 2 of the Arrival Hall, Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
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Ibrahim further informed the judge that the defendant was arrested during inward clearance of passengers aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The NDLEA equally hinted to the court that the 6.1kg of cocaine was concealed by soaking and immersing the illicit substance in towels and other clothing items to evade detection.
Ibrahim insisted that the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
But Ikechukwu pleaded not guilty to the charge, prompting the prosecution to ask the court for a trial date and an order remanding the defendant in a correctional facility pending trial.
Meanwhile, the counsel for the defendant, Chief Benson Ndakara, informed Justice Ogazi that he had filed a bail application for his client which had already been served on the prosecution.
But the court could not entertain the bail application due to its tight schedule.
Consequently, Justice Ogazi ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, facility till September 9, 2026, when his bail application will be heard.
The charge reads: “That you Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, Male, Adult, Nigerian on or about the 11th June, 2026 at Gate 2 of the Arrival Hall of Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopia Airline flight from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Lagos without lawful authority imported 6.1 kilograms of Cocaine, a Narcotic Drug immersed/soaked in Towels and other clothing and you thereby committed an act which is an offence contrary to and punishable under section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
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