The trial was stalled after Chinedu disappeared following his release on bail, remaining a fugitive for almost 10 years until NDLEA operatives arrested him on Tuesday June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos while trying to smuggle 800 grams of cocaine on an inbound Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
Investigation showed that Chinedu, who frequently travelled between Turkey and Nigeria, was returning from Turkey through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he allegedly collected a luggage containing the drug from another person before boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Lagos.
The investigation also uncovered an alleged accomplice, former professional footballer Segun George Hunkarin, who was waiting at the airport car park to receive the consignment.
Hunkarin, who spent years playing professional football in Brazil, was tracked and arrested by NDLEA operatives.
During interrogation, he claimed that while playing in the South American country, he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia.
Both men were subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court, Lagos, on three count charges marked FHC/L/669C/2025, bordering on unlawful importation of 800 grams of cocaine and conspiracy.
After handing down the sentences, Justice Musa Kakaki heard that prosecutor Adekunle Adebajo had urged the court to impose the penalties prescribed under the NDLEA Act.
Defence counsel Chief Benson Ndakara, representing Chinedu, and Chief Emefo Etudo, representing Hunkarin, appealed for leniency, urging the court to consider fines instead of custodial sentences.
He argued that Chinedu’s disappearance after being granted bail in 2015 delayed justice but did not diminish the weight of the evidence against the defendants.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice Musa Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for the unlawful importation of 6.250 kilograms of cocaine.
The court also handed him an additional two-year jail term, without an option of fine, for conspiring with Hunkarin to unlawfully import 800 grams of cocaine, bringing his total sentence to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, bringing the combined jail term of both convicts to 24 years.
The prosecution had reminded the court that Chinedu was earlier arraigned before Justice Salihu Saudi, now retired, in 2015 over the same importation charge but disappeared after he was granted bail.
Defence counsels for both convicts pleaded for leniency and urged the court to consider fine options instead of custodial sentences.
The court, however, rejected the plea after reviewing the evidence presented and sentenced both men to prison terms without any option of fine.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the details of the arraignment in a statement emailed to Persecondnews on Monday.
Welcoming the judgment, retired Brig.-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive officer, applauded the judiciary, and described the conviction as a reminder that drug traffickers cannot escape justice regardless of how long they attempt to evade the law.
Marwa also extolled the officers involved in the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the case.
He emphasized that the re-arrest of Chinedu after nearly 10 years showed the agency’s determination to track down fugitives and ensure accountability.
He added that the agency would continue to work with the judiciary and other stakeholders to ensure that persons involved in drug trafficking are brought to justice.
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