Femi Ashekun/
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of four prime properties belonging to alleged drug kingpin, Alhaji Suleiman Ganiu Aremu, popularly known as Barryshine and Ejeoto, to the Federal Government after ruling that they were proceeds of alleged drug trafficking.
Justice Musa Kakaki made the order in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/1344/2025, granting an application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for the permanent forfeiture of the properties following its conclusion that they were reasonably believed to have been acquired from proceeds of unlawful drug trafficking activities.
The application, filed by NDLEA through its counsel, Commander of Narcotics Abu Ibrahim, was brought against Suleiman Ganiu Aremu, whose prosecution on multiple drug trafficking charges is currently pending before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
In his ruling, Justice Kakaki held that, “an order of this Honourable Court is hereby granted that final forfeiture be made in respect of the properties listed in the schedule to this application reasonably believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities, to wit: drug trafficking/dealing.”
The affected properties are located at Nos. 55, 55A, 63 and 72 Queen Street, Alagomeji, Yaba, one of Lagos’ well-established residential and commercial neighbourhoods.
During the proceedings, Barrister Chinedum Okoro represented the owner of the property at No. 55 Queen Street, while Barrister Olatunji Abisoye also appeared for the respondent. NDLEA was represented by Barrister Abu Ibrahim.
Notably, Barryshine Hotel, located at No. 95 Freeman Street, Yaba, which the NDLEA had previously identified as one of the properties linked to Aremu during its investigation, was not included among the assets ordered forfeited by the court.
Aremu, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Barryshine Suleiman Nigeria Ltd and holder of the traditional title of Akeweje of Yaba, was arrested by NDLEA operatives in August 2024 after spending almost two years on the agency’s watch list over his alleged role as the mastermind of a cocaine trafficking syndicate.
According to the NDLEA, investigations linked him to four separate attempts to smuggle cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, between 2022 and 2024.
The agency said the first breakthrough came in November 2022 when a female passenger travelling to Saudi Arabia was arrested with 400 grammes of cocaine concealed in footwear. Days later, another courier heading for the same destination was intercepted carrying a similar quantity of cocaine hidden in male footwear.
Both suspects allegedly identified members of Aremu’s network as those who recruited and financed their trips.
While investigations into those cases were still ongoing, NDLEA operatives arrested two more drug couriers at the Lagos airport in June 2024 as they prepared to travel to Doha, Qatar. The suspects were found to have ingested a combined 150 pellets of cocaine weighing more than 1.6 kilogrammes.
Investigators subsequently linked the operation to the same trafficking network allegedly controlled by Aremu.
The anti-narcotics agency also said its financial investigation connected Aremu to the arrested couriers and other members of the syndicate, leading to the freezing of bank accounts linked to the alleged cartel before his eventual arrest on August 26, 2024.
His arrest was followed by criminal charges before the Federal High Court in Lagos, where the prosecution is still pending.
In a related development, the NDLEA subsequently obtained another order of the Federal High Court declaring four alleged members of Aremu’s drug cartel wanted. They are Olarenwaju Ramon Abdulai, also known as Alhaji Loyingbo; Oluwafemi Akande Abidoye, also known as Igbono, Baba Eje, Ade Iwaya and Femi Iwaya; Olumuyiwa Olufemi Ilori, also known as Murphy; and Alate Kafy Bakare Bukki of Kaffy Travels.
The final forfeiture of the four Queen Street properties marks one of the most significant asset recovery actions so far arising from the agency’s investigation into the alleged international cocaine trafficking network.
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