Businessman, wife jailed 22 years in Lagos over drug crimes

DDM News

A Lagos Federal High Court has handed a combined 22-year jail term to a businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, and his wife, Rosemary Uchenna, after finding them guilty of drug trafficking offences.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the sentencing was delivered on Monday, August 4, 2025, by Justice Deinde Dipeolu of Federal High Court 8, Lagos, following their arrest and prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the couple was initially apprehended by the Department of State Security (DSS) on June 13, 2025, in the Ojo area of Lagos, with 277.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa, also known as skunk.

While the pair remained in custody, intelligence reports revealed that drug operations were still ongoing at their residence.

This led NDLEA operatives to raid their home and storage facility on July 1, where an additional 231 kilograms of the same substance was recovered.

The total quantity of cannabis linked to the couple stood at 414.2 kilograms.

They were arraigned under charge number FHC/L/632C/2025 on four counts relating to conspiracy, trafficking, and unlawful storage of illicit substances.

Justice Dipeolu convicted Rosemary Uchenna on counts 1, 2, and 3, sentencing her to a total of 17 years in prison without the option of a fine.

Her husband, Johnson Ajah Uchenna, was found guilty on count 1 and sentenced to five years imprisonment, and on count 4, he received an additional six-month sentence with a ₦1 million fine option.

In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of ₦3.4 million recovered from the couple as proceeds of drug crimes to the Federal Government.

In a related case, Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court in Kano sentenced a 42-year-old Indian national, Neetu Neetu, to five years imprisonment for importing heroin into Nigeria.

Neetu was arrested on March 14, 2025, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) during the inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Bangkok via Vietnam and Doha.

She was found with 72 parcels of heroin weighing 11 kilograms disguised as chocolate wafer wraps.

She was arraigned under charge number FHC/KN/CR/65/2025 and received a 10-year sentence on two counts with an option of a ₦2 million fine.

Similarly, a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, was convicted by Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court in Kano for ingesting 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.8 kilograms.

Abuba was arrested on February 25, 2025, at the Kano airport while attempting to travel to Istanbul via Cairo.

In Enugu, the Federal High Court convicted another drug trafficker, Eze Christian Ikenna, for attempting to smuggle 11.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in herbal tea sachets.

He was arrested on January 20, 2023, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport after arriving from Brazil via Addis Ababa.

Ikenna was sentenced by Justice M.G. Umar to six years’ imprisonment, with both counts to run concurrently from May 20, 2023.

Meanwhile, NDLEA also secured a final forfeiture order on a luxury 80-room hotel and lounge located in Victoria Island, Lagos, used by a drug trafficking syndicate as a base for operations.

During a raid between April 25 and 26, 2025, NDLEA officers recovered 417.3 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a high-grade strain of cannabis, with a street value of ₦1.042 billion.

The property, located at No. 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, Victoria Island, and several high-end vehicles were forfeited following a court order delivered on July 18, 2025, by Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala under motion number FHC/L/MISC/447/2025.

Assets forfeited included multiple cars, vans, luxury buses, television sets, air conditioners, refrigerators, and a truck.

Reacting to the convictions and forfeiture rulings, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s personnel and the judiciary for the swift dispensation of justice.

He emphasized that the actions send a strong warning to drug syndicates operating in Nigeria and reflect the agency’s zero-tolerance approach to narcotics trafficking.

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