The Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced fugitive drug trafficker Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and former international footballer Hunkarin Segun George to a combined 24 years’ imprisonment for offences connected with the unlawful importation of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
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Justice Musa Kakaki convicted the two men and imposed the prison terms without an option of fine after reviewing the evidence, exhibits and arguments presented by the prosecution and defence lawyers.
The Director of Media and Advocacy at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Monday.
Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 on a one-count charge marked FHC/L/227C/2015 for unlawfully importing 6.250 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail but allegedly disappeared midway through the trial, remaining at large for nearly 10 years.
His attempt to evade justice ended on June 24, 2025, when NDLEA operatives rearrested him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after he arrived aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
A search of his carry-on luggage reportedly led to the recovery of 800 grams of cocaine.
The NDLEA said Chinedu was a frequent traveller known for transporting clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey.
Investigations showed that he travelled from Turkey aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight and transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he allegedly collected the luggage containing the cocaine from another person before proceeding to Nigeria.
Further investigation revealed that Hunkarin was waiting in the airport car park to collect the consignment from Chinedu.
The former footballer, who reportedly lived in Brazil for several years and played for professional clubs there, was subsequently tracked and arrested in the car park.
According to the NDLEA, Hunkarin claimed in his statement that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia while playing professional football in the South American country.
Following their arrests, Chinedu and Hunkarin were arraigned on a three-count charge marked FHC/L/669C/2025 over the unlawful importation of the additional 800 grams of cocaine.
Delivering judgment on July 24, 2026, Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for unlawfully importing the 6.250 kilograms of cocaine involved in the earlier case.
The judge imposed an additional two-year prison term on him, also without an option of fine, for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the 800-gram cocaine consignment intercepted in 2025.
The sentences brought Chinedu’s total prison term to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on the conspiracy charge, bringing the combined prison terms imposed on both convicts to 24 years.
During the review of the case, NDLEA prosecuting counsel Adekunle Adebajo reminded the court that Chinedu had previously been arraigned before Justice Salihu Saidu, now retired, in 2015 but disappeared after being admitted to bail.
Adebajo cited several legal authorities and urged the court to impose sentences consistent with the relevant provisions of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act.
Counsel to Chinedu, Chief Benson Ndakara, and Hunkarin’s lawyer, Chief Emefo Etudo, pleaded for leniency and asked the court to consider imposing fines instead of custodial sentences.
The court rejected their requests after considering the arguments, legal authorities and exhibits tendered during the proceedings and sentenced both men to prison without an option of fine.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the judiciary, describing the decision as further evidence of the courts’ commitment to combating drug trafficking regardless of how long offenders attempt to evade justice.
Marwa also praised the NDLEA officers involved in the arrests, investigation and prosecution, saying Chinedu’s eventual rearrest after almost 10 years demonstrated the patience, determination and thoroughness of the agency’s operatives in tracking fugitives.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to working with the judiciary and other stakeholders to ensure that individuals involved in drug trafficking are brought to justice regardless of their status or the length of time they remain at large.
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