By Deborah Nnamdi
Four drug kingpins involved in the historic seizure of 2,139.55 kilograms of cocaine at an Ikorodu residential estate in 2022 have been sentenced by a Federal High Court in Lagos State.
The convicts, Soji Jubril Oke, 71; Wasiu Akinade, 55; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu, 67; and Kelvin Christopher Smith, 44, a Jamaican, were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in various locations across Lagos between Sunday night, September 18, and Monday morning, September 19, 2022.
The arrests followed a raid at 6 Olukuola Crescent, Solebo Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos, where over 2.1 tons of cocaine were seized. This recovery remains the largest single cocaine seizure in Nigeria’s history.
The convicts were charged with six counts under charge number FHC/L/607C/2022 in October and December 2022.The trial of a fifth suspect, Oguntolure Sunday, who was arraigned alongside them, is still ongoing.
In a statement on Thursday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Justice Yellim Bogoro sentenced the convicts to a combined 28 years of imprisonment with hard labor.
The forfeited house
The statement reads in part: “The trial judge handed the Jamaican, Kelvin Christopher Smith, four years imprisonment with hard labor; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu received a total of 16 years; Soji Jubril Oke was sentenced to five years with hard labor, and Wasiu Akinade got three years with hard labor.“
The trial judge, however, gave the convicts varying options of fines, except for one who must serve the full jail term without an option of fine.
They were also ordered to forfeit a grey Toyota Tacoma SUV (registration number AAA-734HT) registered in the name of Emmanuel Chukwu, $50,000 belonging to Chukwu, ₦55,099,509.50 also belonging to Chukwu, ₦9,003,168.06 belonging to Wasiu Akinade, and ₦3,052,295.20 also belonging to Akinade.
In another development, the NDLEA secured the final forfeiture of two properties linked to the drug cartel in a suit marked FHC/L/MISC/672/2024 and filed before Justice Bogoro on December 9, 2024.
Babafemi quoted the court as saying, “An order of final forfeiture and confiscation is granted in favor of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Landed Property/House Number 6 Olokunola Street, Solebo Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos State, used for the storage and concealment of 2,139.55kg of cocaine, an illicit substance.
The forfeited house
“An order of final forfeiture and confiscation is also granted in favor of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Landed Property/House Number J9, Road 3, Close 1, Victoria Garden City Estate, Lagos State, reasonably believed to have been purchased with proceeds from drug trafficking.
“An order is granted directing the sale or disposal of the forfeited properties by any lawful means, with the proceeds paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
