Freeman Charles Ogbonna has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Federal High Court, three months after being arrested for drug trafficking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Ogbonna was caught attempting to board a flight to Delhi, India, via Doha with 80 wraps of cocaine in his stomach.
Ogbonna, who was using a Liberian passport under the name Carr Bismark, was subjected to a body scan that revealed the ingestion of illicit drugs. Following his arrest on March 31, he was placed under observation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Over four days, he excreted and vomited the cocaine wraps, which weighed a total of 889 grams.
Ogbonna confessed that a relative recruited him into drug trafficking, offering him N300,000 to deliver the drugs in India.
He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Dipeolu Deinde Isaac of the Federal High Court, Lagos in charge number FHCL/378/2024 for committing an offence contrary to section 20(1)(b) and punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 LFN 2004. Delivering his judgement on the case on Monday 1st July 2024, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ogbonna to 25 years in prison without an option of fine.
In a statement released, the spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the Chairman of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the MMIA Command and the prosecution team for a fast and diligent handling of the case, adding that the judiciary remains a strong pillar in the coordinated and concerted effort to curb the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria. He said Ogbonna’s conviction will further send a strong signal to his ilk that there will be no hiding place for drug barons and their mules.
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