Emeka Ibemere
By his long
youthful beard and glittering eye, he didn’t know where the train of life had
stopped him. At the back of the operational Hilux jeep of his captors, he
thought that it won’t be long, he would get over it. This was his thought
because his godfathers had told him that he would be released no matter the
condition.
With this
assurance, he was full of confidence until the Cell of his captors at the
National Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, banged for a close, that he realized
where he was; and that the assurance given to him was empty boasts. Even the
reasons he told his captors for indulging in illicit trade were like a fairy
tale of the ancient marina, to those who arrested him.
And if the assurance
of his bosses had worked out as planned, Anabaronye Tochukwu Ken, 36, and a
Lagos based auto parts dealer, would have rejoined her pregnant wife in his
house and see the delivery of their first baby any moment from now.
But that couldn’t
be possible any longer for now. Touchukwu is still with the Agents of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who carried out his arrest for allegedly
ingesting 52 wraps of narcotic substances that tested positive for cocaine. The
drug weighed 900 grammes.
According to
the NDLEA Spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, the arrest took place at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos while the suspect attempting to
board an Air France flight to Milan.
Mr. Hamza Umar,
NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, said that the arrest of Anabaronye
Tochukwu Ken was made possible by the scanning machine at the airport. In his
words, “Anabaronye Tochukwu Ken tested positive for drug ingestion during the
outward screening of Air France passengers at the departure hall. While he was
under observation, he excreted fifty two (52) wraps of substances that tested
positive for cocaine with a weight of 900 grammes. Anabaronye is helping us in
our investigation activities”.
The
36-year-old suspect in his confessional statement pleaded for mercy on the
grounds that his wife would soon put to birth. “I sell motor spare parts but at
present, I have no shop and my wife is pregnant and about to give birth to our
first child”, he added.
“I got
myself involved in drug trafficking to take care of my family. I ingested
fifty-two (52) wraps of cocaine for a fee of 4,000 Euros. I sincerely plead for
mercy. My greatest desire is to be released from custody before my wife’s
delivery date.” The suspect is from Orlu, in Imo State.
Chairman/Chief
Executive of the anti-narcotic Agency, Ahmadu Giade said that drug traffickers
should be handed stiffer penalties to deter others from engaging in the
criminal act. “In addition to public enlightenment, stiffer penalties are
effective means of addressing the problem of illicit drug trafficking and
abuse. It will assist in the drastic reduction of the financial attraction of
drug trafficking,” Giade stated.
The suspect,
NDLEA said would face prosecution in court as soon as investigation was
concluded.
But an NDLEA officer who is not happy with the
running of the organization, told our correspondent that whether stiffer
penalty was given as an option to reduce the problem of illicit drug
trafficking was applied or not; that the conceptualised corruption existing in the fight against drug
trafficking would not have any effect. He said corruption is the bane of the
war on drug in Nigeria. It’s not pursued with vigour and sincerity of purpose.
Investigation
by our correspondent has revealed an increasing boom in Nigeria’s hard drug
business with serious lapses in the prosecution of suspects. There are
allegations of cartel operating within the courts, the prisons and at the legal
department of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to assist drug convicts
to evade jail terms.
A judge
recently accused prosecuting lawyers of collaborating with suspect’s lawyers to
set free drug suspects going trials in NDLEA cases.
Few years
ago, media exposed the activities of the drug cartel which led to the
inauguration of a panel headed by Justice Gilbert Obanya. Obanya was charged
with examining the activities of the anti-drug agency and report to the
Presidency. However, the retired Judge made his observation in his report and
forwarded it to the then Minister of Justice, the supervising ministry of the
agency which gave the nod for its implementation. One of the Obanya’s
recommendations was dealing with corruption in the agency. But that report
didn’t see the light of the day.
However, the
cartel succeeded in ‘killing’ the report of the Obanya panel, when the Chairman
and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, allegedly failed to implement the ‘august
report’ using contacts in high places.
It’s
observed that every day, at the airports, sea ports and boarders, drug suspects
are arrested and prosecuted but little or none serves their complete sentences,
fuelling suspicion in high quarters that the drug war in Nigeria seems not to
be working.
Recently, Nigeria’s
major drug barons have devised new strategies to get away with their crimes.
They have used a combination of bribes, blackmail and threats to frustrate
their prosecution and avoid jail terms.
The mess
came into forefront recently when Justice Ibrahim N. Buba of the Federal High
Court, Lagos, assumed duties in 2012. The judge was reportedly shocked to
discover that more than one hundred accused drug barons granted bail on liberal
terms by Justice Liman had jumped bail. Our investigation revealed that the
situation was the same in several other courts. Upset by the situation, the judge has repeatedly scolded the NDLEA in
court. He has also issued several orders to the agency to re-arrest suspects,
but to no avail.
Another
judge of competent jurisdiction also added his voice to the growing weed of
corruption at the agency.
It was
gathered that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos on 7, Friday
February, 2014 was unable to accommodate the unmitigated corruption of the
NDLEA prosecutors any longer and sadly accused one of them, Mr Abu Ibrahim of gross
misconduct in open court.
Daily
Newswatch learned that the Judge while delivering judgement in a case of
dealing in cocaine was quoted to have said in his judgement that there seems to
be collaboration between the prosecutor and the accused.
The judge
said: “When the fifth prosecution witness (Idris Zakari) testified, learned
counsel for the prosecution applied to tender only a portion of the statement
of the accused person”.
“The full
statement is attached to the counter-affidavit filed by the same prosecution in
opposition to bail application.
“While
writing this judgment, I wondered why learned counsel for the prosecution Abu
Ibrahim, a counsel I have so much respect for, behaved in this manner.
“I ask
again, why did the learned counsel behave this way? Whose interest is the
learned counsel serving? Is it the interest of the prosecution or the interest
of the accused person or is he serving the interest of justice”?
“In his
written address that is not helpful to the court, learned counsel for the
prosecution never for once canvassed arguments on the confessional statement.
He kept mute and said nothing about it.
“I ask the
question: I’m not making a statement of fact – is it that learned counsel for
the prosecution’s intention is to enable the accused person escape conviction?
The attitude of learned counsel is most unfair to the court and to the smooth
administration of justice.”
The judge,
who suspected that there was ‘agreement’ between the parties to enable the
accused escape justice, added that, “many heads will roll” if he ordered an
investigation into the case.
Abang said,
“In the course of his arguments, learned counsel for the defence pretended as
if no such confession had been made. I ask the question again, is it that the
prosecution and the defence had colluded to create problems for the court by
withholding material evidence, which would conveniently secure conviction, to
enable the accused person escape conviction and go home with the N14m illegally
procured from illegal dealing in narcotic drug? Abang queried. “Speaking for
myself, I can never be a party to this kind of unwholesome and improper
conduct. If I order investigation into this matter, many heads will roll.”
He said
despite the conduct of the counsel in the case, there was circumstantial
evidence sufficient to convict the accused for the alleged crime.
“Where the
circumstantial evidence is cogent, undisputable, strong, and points
irresistibly to the guilt of the accused person, the court of law is entitled
to convict the accused person,” he said.
In
convicting the accused, the judge said, “With regard to the unchallenged
evidence of PW5 and the evidence contained in Exhibit E1 (a portion of the
accused person’s statement tendered by the prosecution) it is my humble view
that the accused person conspired with Sam Egunibe to import 8.270kg of cocaine
from Pakistan to Nigeria.”
Meanwhile
the petitioning staffs accused Giade to have enthroned an atmosphere that is
encouraging the recycling of seized illicit drugs through collusion with drug
dealers and barons and the promotion of unholy trading of drug cases between
NDLEA prosecutors and defence counsels for money.
According to
them, these devious arrangements do not only dent the image of the country,
they are making a mockery of Nigeria's professed anti-drug campaigns as well as
our justice delivery system.
Further
investigations by our correspondent revealed that the latest tactics by these
big time drug dealers was to contract special defense lawyers to handle their
cases. It was gathered that within the judiciary, some of the big name lawyers
know the judges who are favourable and those that are tough. They then use
dubious court officials to manipulate and make sure that their client’s case is
assigned to a favourable court.
According to
our sources, the notorious judges then grant bail to the suspects on liberal
terms, with the stipulation that the NDLEA must verify the sureties. But within the NDLEA, the jobs of verifying
sureties are done by the same group of people who would endorse any arrangement
made by the defense lawyers. An aggrieved NDLEA officer, who pleaded anonymity,
said the present NDLEA cannot win the drug war based on five caret-corruptions
in the prosecution of the war. According to him, such corrupt arrangements
enabled drug barons to continue to thrive.
Two judges
are said to be the most dreaded in the war against drug. They are Justice Buba
and Abang. Justice Buba is alleged to be a no-nonsense
Justice and that his approach changed the game and made life tough for drug traffickers
and bosses. The same accolade is given to Justice Abang, who always questions
the ability of the NDLEA lawyers.
It was
recently alleged that NDLEA lawyers avoid Justice Buba’s court like a plague.
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