The anti-narcotic agency said he was subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022, and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty.

NDLEA said he later jumped bail and fled, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.

According to the statement, Uwaezuoke was again rearrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.

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Babafemi said Uwaezuoke was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023, where he pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦1,500,000.00.

He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him and was re-arraigned on 20th March 2024 at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again.

According to the statement, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment despite his plea, noting his lack of remorse, the seriousness of drug-related offences, and the fact that he is a repeat offender by the court.

Babafemi said in the case of 42-year-old Agbo Chidike Prince, he was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong on 21st October 2023 for ingesting 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73grams.

Upon his arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one-count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.

Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasized the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on April 15, 2024, to life imprisonment.

Two notorious drug kingpins bag life imprisonment for cocaine trafficking

They reportedly intercepted a white Mercedes-Benz ML 350 4matic , parked on the road, with two occupants in the driver and passenger seats.

The driver of the Mercedes was said to have hit a wall while attempting to reverse and escape.

He reportedly drove menacingly towards two suspected members of the gang that stood in front of the car and ran over them.

After seeing that Ogbo and another member of the gang identified simply as Oyi-Baba have been run over by the driver and rendered incapacitated by the incident, their colleagues abandoned them and fled the scene.

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A mob was said to have pounced on them and was at the brink of setting them ablaze when a Rapid Response Team that was contacted arrived the scene.

While Oyi-Baba reportedly died in the hospital, Ogbo , is still undergoing treatment, according to Police sources.

From the hospital bed, Ogbo, said, “ In 2012, I attacked one of my uncles during an argument over a parcel of land and he died in the process.

I was arrested and charged for murder. While serving my 11 years hail term, I made friends with some inmates.

“Upon my release in December 2023, I returned to Ndele and rallied two old friends, Gift Kpanuku, aka Oyi-Baba and one Sunny, aka Onye-meme.

”We teamed up with two released members of the gang I formed in prison: Isaac and Ugo and immediately devised a plan to start a kidnap-for-ransom gang.

“ We stole from residents of Ndele to raise money for arms. We raised 370,000 and used it to purchase two locally made shot guns in Akwa-Ibom from Smart, a gunrunner I also met in prison.

“ We went on the first mission on March 13, 2024, at about 8.45 p.m. We snatched a red Mazda 323 from a local taxi driver to use as operational vehicle. On that same evening, we met a man and his wife who parked their car in front of a doctor’s office at Nkpolu. We ordered them out of their Volkswagen Touareg, pushed them into the back seat of the car and drove off with them, abandoning the stolen Mazda.

“ But on the way to our hideout, there was traffic .While contemplating an alternative route, the woman jumped out of the car. In anger, I shot her husband in both thighs, and we sped off.

We took him to a compound in Eleme, took his gold chain, gold wristwatch , his phone and wife’s phone which she left . We used his ATM card to withdraw N530, 000, via

How I formed kidnap gang while in prison – kidnapper