Court Screens Video Showing NDLEA Allegedly Helping Cocaine Smugglers at Enugu Airport

Court Screens Video Showing NDLEA Allegedly Helping Cocaine Smugglers at Enugu Airport

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday screened a video evidence in the ongoing trial of DCP Abba Kyari and four other police officers, revealing how operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) allegedly assisted drug traffickers at Enugu Airport.

The video, tendered by the Nigeria Police Force through Inspector El‑John Nwoke, details confessions from two convicted traffickers — Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne — about their repeated smuggling of cocaine into Nigeria and how NDLEA officers reportedly cleared their luggage without proper inspection.

Inspector Nwoke told the court that the traffickers explained their handlers would send photos and descriptions of them to NDLEA officers before flights, allowing the officers to identify them upon arrival. “When we get to the checking point, they will know that we are the ones. They will open the bag, do a normal search, and say we should go,” Umeibe said in the video. Ezenwanne confirmed he had previously carried cocaine in 2021 and 2022 and that NDLEA officers had allowed them to pass through checkpoints without detection.

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The video, recorded by police on January 20, 2022, is 27 minutes long and was admitted into evidence as “Exhibit D‑3” after the court overruled objections from the NDLEA. It captures detailed confessions showing how traffickers moved cocaine via night buses after being cleared at the airport. The 21.55kg cocaine seizure by Kyari’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) followed shortly after the alleged NDLEA clearance.

Kyari, former head of the IRT, is being tried alongside ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba, and Inspector John Nuhu on charges including conspiracy, obstruction, and dealing in cocaine. The case has drawn attention to alleged internal collusion within Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agencies, though NDLEA has denied any complicity.

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to May 20 for continuation, including further examination of the video evidence and witness testimonies. The footage is expected to play a crucial role in determining the extent of alleged collusion between NDLEA operatives and traffickers.

The trial underscores ongoing concerns about airport security, drug enforcement effectiveness, and internal oversight within Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agencies.

Court Screens Video Showing NDLEA Allegedly Helping Cocaine Smugglers at Enugu Airport