Stories by Steve Aya
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has strongly opposed the bail applications filed by 10 Defendants —including three Mexican nationals—prosecuted over the alleged operation of a massive clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in an Ogun State forest.
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos adjourned ruling on the bail applications until September 2, 2026, following heated arguments between defence Counsel, Benson Ndakara and NDLEA Prosecutor, Buhari Abdullahi.
The Defendants, comprising three Mexicans and seven Nigerians, face an 11-count charge involving the illegal production and possession of 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, alongside tonnes of precursor chemicals recovered from a laboratory in Iloti Village, Ijebu East Local Government Area, Ogun State.
Defending the bail application, Ndakara urged the vacation court to release the Applicants on liberal terms, emphasising their fundamental right to liberty, presumption of innocence, and pressing health concerns that allegedly require specialised medical care outside custodial facilities.
Countering the application, the NDLEA urged the court to deny bail, labelling the Defendants high flight risks. Abdullahi highlighted that the syndicate’s alleged financier, Anochili Innocent, holds dual Nigerian-Mexican citizenship, while three co-Defendants are Mexican nationals, making international absconding a severe threat to the ongoing trial.
The prosecution further informed the court that the substantive trial before Justice Musa Kakaki has already commenced, with its first witness testifying. Abdullahi dismissed defence claims of a planned poultry or wine farm, stating forensic evidence confirmed the forest site was custom-built to manufacture illicit drugs using chemicals transported from Lagos.
The charges, brought under the NDLEA Act, allege the group unlawfully acquired and transported precursor agents—including toluene, P2P, hydrochloric acid, and acetone—to power the transnational drug production ring.