By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dragged a 30-year-old woman, Ogechi Eze, before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, over alleged export prohibited hard drugs.
Ogechi Exe was arraigned before Justice M. Kakaki on a four-count charge bordering on alleged exportation of cocaine and cannabis.
After listening to the charge preferred against her, she pleaded not guilty to all the four counts charge.
After her plea, the defence counsel, Mr Dennis Wari, applied for his client’s bail, but the prosecution counsel, Mrs Juliana Iroabuchi, vehemently opposed the bail.
Iroabuchi referred the court to some specific paragraphs of the affidavit as grounds for opposing the application for bail and urged the court to refuse same.
The court consequently, adjourned the case until October 25 for ruling on the bail and commencement of trial.
In the charge, the prosecution held that the defendant committed the offences on July 19, at the NACHO Export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Iroabuchi alleged that the defendant was arrested during the examination of cargoes to Pakistan.
According to the prosecution, the defendant had concealed 300g of cocaine in a white sack filled with HibiicuI sabdariffa leaves.
She was alleged to have exported the said narcotics to her cousin, one Nnamdi Eze who has resided in Pakistan for about 10 years after he paid her the sum of N1.2 million.
The defendant was also alleged to have exported 1.6 kg of cannabis sativa which she concealed in a sack containing vegetable (Bitter leaf)
It was alleged that the defendant had previously exported such cargo to Pakistan up to five times.
The prosecution alleged that the defendant conspired with Eze, one Ada and her husband, as well as one Chika Merit who are all at large, to commit the offences.
The offences contravene the provisions of Sections 11(b) and 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
