Femi Ashekun/
A notorious drug baron, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, who jumped bail ten years ago, has been re-arrested after walking back into the dragnet of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) while allegedly committing the same offence.
Ntoruka, who absconded in 2015 during his trial for trafficking 6.25 kilograms of cocaine, was arrested on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
He was caught alongside a former footballer, Hunkarin Segun Judge, as NDLEA operatives intercepted 800 grams of cocaine during inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
Prosecutor, Adekunle Adebajo, told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the fugitive drug baron was behind the unlawful importation, while his co-defendant, the ex-footballer, was involved in distribution.
Both men pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy and trafficking.
Justice Musa Kakaki refused a bail application filed on behalf of the defendants, ruling that it lacked merit, and ordered their remand in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending trial.
The matter was adjourned to October 2, 2025.
The development has revived Ntoruka’s unresolved 2015 case, which stalled after he absconded following bail granted in the sum of N10 million.
That case, earlier assigned to the now-retired Justice Saliu Seidu and later handled by Justice Abimbola Awogboro, had led to a standing arrest warrant against him.
His rearraignment on the old charge also failed to proceed this week due to the absence of his counsel and has been adjourned to October 2.
The NDLEA said the defendants’ offences contravene sections 14(b), 11(a), and 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and carry severe penalties upon conviction.
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