Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded a self-acclaimed property developer, Mbaeri Emmanuel, in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service for allegedly trafficking 18.70 kilograms of cocaine.
Justice Owoeye sent Emmanuel behind bars after he pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of unlawful importation of the prohibited drug brought against him by the Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
During the proceedings, an NDLEA prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, informed the court that the defendant was arrested on October 29, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
Ibrahim had also claimed that the defendant was allegedly found with the drugs hidden in the lavatory of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 901, which he boarded from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nigeria.
The prosecutor further told the judge that an investigation conducted by the agency allegedly revealed that the defendant was responsible for smuggling the drugs, leading to his arrest.
Based on his plea, Ibrahim urged the court to fix a trial date to remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) pending trial.
However, the defence lawyer, Chris Obiaka, applied for bail on behalf of his client, but the prosecutor objected to the move on the ground that the defendant would jump bail if granted by the court.
After listening to the lawyers, Justice Owoeye ordered that Emmanuel be remanded until February 4, when a ruling on the bail application will be delivered.
The judge also fixed May 5 for the commencement of the trial.
The charge against Emmanuel states: “That you, Mbaeri Okechukwu Emmanuel, male, adult, on or about the 29th day of October 2024 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos, without lawful authority imported 18.70 kilograms of cocaine, a narcotic drug, aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 901 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and you thereby committed an act which is an offence contrary to Section 20(1)(a) and punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
