Court strikes out suit against Sonubi Mariam Abiodun over alleged possession of Cocaine
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Justice Ambrose Lewis Allagoa of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has struck out Suit Number FHC/L/440c/24 in which a female, Sonubi Mariam Abiodun was wrongfully arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged unlawful possession of Cocaine, a prohibited narcotic substance.
The court struck out the suit following an application by NDLEA through its prosecutor to withdraw the defendant from the suit and substitute her with another defendant.
When the case was called for trial, Bibiana Eze (Mrs) announced appearance for the prosecution while Vivian Ekwegh (Mrs) appeared for the defendant
The prosecutor moved an application seeking to substitute Sonubi Mariam Abiodun with another defendant entirely, which was not opposed by defence counsel.
After moving the application with the attached substitute, the court held that substitution of Sonubi Mariam Abiodun with another defendant should not be in the same charge but in a fresh charge with another charge number.
Consequently, the charge filed for the arraignment and subsequent trial of Mariam Abiodun was struck out, thereby clearing her from the alleged criminal act.
Recall that Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was reported to have in May 2024 arrested a Lagos freight agent, Sonubi Mariam Abiodun, accused her of possession of eight parcels of cocaine allegedly hidden inside shea butter buckets.
According NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos Airport arrested Abiodun over her alleged attempt to cargo the 2 kilogrammes of cocaine in three shea butter buckets for export to the United Kingdom.
With the striking out of the suit, the defendant has now been relieved of the stigma and trauma she went through.
