•Says NDLEA established reasonable suspicion
Wale Igbintade
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed an application by Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, seeking to set aside an order extending his detention for 30 days over his alleged involvement in the trafficking of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Justice Akintayo Aluko, in a ruling delivered on Thursday, held that the detention extension order granted on August 20, 2026, was validly made and supported by the Constitution and relevant drug-control laws.
Kazeem, through his counsel, Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, SAN, had urged the court to set aside the order, arguing that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to extend his detention.
The defence relied on Sections 293 to 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which govern remand proceedings, and argued that only a Magistrates’ Court could issue a remand order.
Labi-Lawal consequently contended that the detention extension unlawfully interfered with his client’s constitutional right to personal liberty.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), through its counsel, Abu Ibrahim, opposed the application, arguing that the defence had misconstrued the nature of the order.
The agency maintained that the August 20 order was not a remand order under the ACJA, but an extension of detention granted to enable it conduct further investigations into the alleged drug trafficking offence.
Justice Aluko upheld the NDLEA’s position, ruling that Sections 293 to 299 of the ACJA were not applicable to the order under challenge.
The judge further held that the Federal High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over drug-related matters under Section 251(1)(m) of the Constitution and Section 26(1) of the NDLEA Act.
The court also found that the evidence presented by the NDLEA established reasonable suspicion of a drug-related offence, providing a lawful basis for the temporary deprivation of Kazeem’s liberty under Section 35 of the Constitution.
The case followed Kazeem’s arrest on August 13, 2026, at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while he was allegedly attempting to travel to Paris, France.
The NDLEA had told the court that his arrest followed the seizure of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine at a DHL facility in Ikeja, Lagos, alleging that Kazeem was connected to the consignment.
Following his arrest, the agency sought additional time to detain him while it investigated the alleged offence, leading to the 30-day detention extension granted by the court on August 20.
Dissatisfied with the order, Kazeem filed the application challenging its legality and the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to grant it.
In dismissing the application, Justice Aluko held that the defence had relied on provisions of the ACJA that did not govern the detention order, while the NDLEA had established sufficient grounds for the temporary deprivation of Kazeem’s liberty.
The judge consequently dismissed the application as an abuse of court process and lacking in merit.
The ruling leaves the August 20 detention extension order intact, allowing the NDLEA to continue its investigation into the alleged cocaine trafficking.