Four notorious drug traffickers have been sentenced to a total of 95 years in prison by the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Yola, following their conviction for trafficking cocaine and skunk worth over N4.6 billion.
The convicts—Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi, Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (a.k.a Don), and Zidon Zurga—also had their luxury vehicles forfeited to the Federal Government.
According to a statement on Friday by the spokesperson of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, Ogbuji, 48, was arrested on September 18, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while arriving from Addis Ababa. He was caught with 817 wraps of cocaine weighing 19.40 kilograms, valued at N4.65 billion.
Babafemi revealed that this was not Ogbuji’s first offense. In May 2023, he was previously arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.986kg. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison with an option of a N3 million fine, which he paid and was released.
Less than 16 months later, he was caught again at the Lagos airport with a larger consignment of cocaine. On February 28, 2025, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, sentenced him to five years imprisonment on one count with an option of a N7 million fine and 10 years imprisonment on another count without an option of a fine. If he fails to pay the N7 million fine, he will serve a total of 15 years in jail consecutively. The court also ordered the forfeiture of monetary exhibits and other items found on him at the time of his arrest.
Iloduba, 51, was arrested on December 31, 2021, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for ingesting 58 wraps of cocaine. While in transit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he excreted 48 wraps, while the remaining 10 wraps were expelled under NDLEA custody.
After three years of prosecution, he was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, bringing his total jail term to 10 years, to run concurrently from the date of his conviction, March 5, 2025.
Shuaibu Isa and Zidon Zurga were apprehended on November 25, 2024, along Numan-Yola Road while trafficking 500.8 kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. They concealed the illicit drugs in a Toyota Hilux (marked Lagos NT 829 AAA) and a Prado SUV bearing a fake presidency number plate (01B-266 FG).
Following their trial before Justice Bala Usman of the Federal High Court, Yola, they were convicted on February 7, 2025, and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment each on two counts. The court also ordered the interim forfeiture of the two jeeps used in trafficking the illicit drugs.
