The Federal High Court in Abuja have sentenced two drug kingpins, Uwaezuoke Christian and Agbo Prince to life imprisonment for their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents.
The Director of Media and Advocacy, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Femi Babafemi, announced this in a statement on Sunday.
The statement partly read, “For 43-year-old businessman Uwaezuoke, his journey to a lifetime in jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on March 19, 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.
“He was subsequently 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.”
Babafemi added that Uwaezuoke was arrested again in August 2023, when he attempted to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India under a different identity, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
Following his arrest, he was promptly arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos, where he pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison or a fine of ₦1,500,000.00, which he paid before being transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him.
“He was re-arraigned on March 20, 2024, at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again.
