4 Drug kingpins bag 95 years imprisonment over N4.6bn narcotics dealing

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has handed out a combined 95-year prison term to four drug lords, Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi, Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (also known as Don), and Zidon Zurga for their roles in trafficking cocaine and high-potency cannabis (skunk) valued at over ₦4.6 billion.

The Federal High Courts in Lagos and Yola in Adamawa State delivered these sentences after separate convictions.

NDLEA officers arrested Ogbuji at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on September 18, 2024, while Ethiopian Airlines passengers from Addis Ababa were being cleared.

At that time, he was caught with 817 packs of cocaine weighing 19.40 kilograms, with an estimated street value of N4.65 billion.

This arrest came only 16 months after his previous conviction for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine.

Initially, Ogbuji was detained on May 10, 2023, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after arriving from Uganda via Addis Ababa, where he was found to have swallowed 1.986 kilograms of cocaine.

He was convicted on July 13, 2023, by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon at the Federal High Court in Abuja (Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/192/2023) and was sentenced to either two years in prison or a N3 million fine, which he paid to secure his release.

Not deterred, he was arrested again at Lagos Airport on September 18, 2024, with a larger shipment and later appeared before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos (Charge No: FHC/L/845C) on January 16, 2025.

He received a sentence of five years for one count, with an option of a N7 million fine, and ten years for a second count without a fine option; if he fails to pay the fine, he faces a total of 15 years behind bars. The court also ordered the forfeiture of all his monetary items and possessions at the time of arrest.

Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, aged 51, was arrested on December 31, 2021, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu for ingesting 58 packs of cocaine.

He expelled 48 packs while in transit in Addis Ababa and the remaining 10 after being taken into NDLEA custody on January 1, 2022. His case was heard before Justice Folashade Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Enugu (Charge No: FHC/EN/CR/18/2022).

After three years of careful prosecution, he was convicted on March 5, 2025, and sentenced to five years for each count, amounting to 10 years in prison to run concurrently from the date of conviction.

Meanwhile, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (55), known as Don, and Zidon Zurga (50) were nabbed on November 25, 2024, along the Numan-Yola Road in Adamawa State while transporting 500.8 kilograms of skunk hidden in a Toyota Hilux (Lagos NT 829 AAA) and a Prado SUV that bore a fake presidency number plate (01B-266 FG).

They were tried before Justice Bala Usman at the Federal High Court in Yola (Charge No: FHC/YL/150/2024) and on February 7, 2025, were convicted and given a sentence of 35 years each on two counts, making a combined sentence of 70 years, with an alternative fine of N25 million each.

The court also ordered the temporary forfeiture of both vehicles used in the trafficking.

NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), praised the courts and NDLEA teams at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, and Adamawa State for their hard work and professionalism.

He stated, “The convictions and the forfeiture of the convicts’ instruments of crime will further strengthen the deterrent effect of our ongoing efforts to completely dismantle drug networks in Nigeria.”