NDLEA arraigns knight, brother over 2.1kg heroin

Abiola Seun

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,(NDLEA) on Wednesday, arraigned Sir Basil Okafor, a knight of the Roman Catholic Church, and his cousin, Edwin Izuchukwu, before the Federal High Court.

The two brothers were levelled with charges bordering on conspiracy, possession of 2.169 kilograms of heroin, and frustrating the cause of justice.

According to the NDLEA, the suspects were arrested on March 28, 2022, at No 26 Akpomule street, Isolo-Okota area of Lagos.

The prosecutor, Mr. Umar Hussaine, informed Justice Daniel Osiagor that the defendants were found in unlawful possession of the prohibited drug and also discovered to be distributing same.

The counsel also alleged that Okafor threw his iPhone 7 containing his SIM card into a water closet in a bid to obstruct the operations of the NDLEA officers in the course of his arrest.

Hussaine said the offences committed by the two brothers were prohibited under Sections 14(b), 24(1)(a), and 49 of the NDLEA Act, 2004.

The said offences are also punishable under Section 20(2)(a) and Section 20(2)(b) of the Act.

After reading the charges, the defendants pleaded not guilty. The defendant’s counsel, Mr. Benson Ndakara, prayed the court to grant his clients bail, appealing that one of the defendants, Sir Okafor, is a knight of a Catholic Church.

Justice Osiagor granted the two defendants bail in the sum of N2m each with one surety in like sum.

He, however, remanded them in the NDLEA custody until their bail terms have been perfected.

The court adjourned the case till October 5 to open trial against the defendants.

Earlier, the NDLEA had obtained a lien of Post No Debit from Justice Tijani Ringim directing Zenith Bank Plc and United Bank of Africa to restrict the defendants from accessing their accounts.

The justice also ordered that the NDLEA should be granted rights to inspect the Certified True Copies of their accounts, and also conduct other investigations as necessary.

The application was granted on the alleged ground that the defendants were international drug traffickers.