GBENGA OLARINOYE, Ilorin
Two notorious drug kingpins: 37-year-old Ajetsibo Emami popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’ and 51-year-old Solomon Akpomuai have been convicted and sentenced to a combined 10 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Emami was arrested in Ikeja Lagos on Saturday 28th June 2025 after NDLEA operatives dismantled his drug trafficking network in a three-day operation leading to the arrest of three other suspects. Recovered from Emami’s network were 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 414.2 kilograms.
The bust of Emami’s drug ring followed credible intelligence on his attempt to move the shipment to Lekki area of Lagos, from where it will be distributed to other parts of the state and across the country.
He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court 8 Lagos in charge number FHC/L/636C/2025 bordering on dealing in illicit drugs. In his ruling delivered on Monday 18th August 2025, the trial judge convicted Emami on the one count charge filed against him by NDLEA prosecutor Assistant Commander of Narcotics Buhari Shuaibu Abdullahi and sentenced him to six years in prison with an option of N50million in lieu of jail.
In his case, Solomon Akpomuai was first arrested by men of Customs Service along Shagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway with 2,197.8 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis on 3rd June 2025 and transferred to NDLEA on 16th June after which he was arraigned in charge number FHC/L/635C before Justice Dipeolu for trafficking illicit drugs in large commercial quantity. Also delivering his judgement on the matter, the trial judge convicted and sentenced Akpomuai to four years in prison with an option of N50million fine.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) described the conviction of the two drug kingpins as an indication that Nigeria will sooner than later surmount the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking as a result of the positive outcomes of the current balanced approach to the Agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts. He commended the judiciary, NDLEA officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of the cases as well as other stakeholders for their commitment to the cause of a drug free country.
. As EFCC arraigns ICT consultant over alleged N131.8m, $.2m fraud in Abuja
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, August 18, 2025, arraigned one Umar Abdullahi, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consultant, over alleged offences bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and money laundering to the tune of N131.8 million and $200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
Abdullahi, 48, was docked on a four-count charge of money laundering and obtaining by false pretence before a vacation judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, of Court 8, Federal High Court, Central Area, Abuja.
Abdullahi’s prosecution followed a petition by Alhaji Shehu Badamosi to the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Commission, accusing Abdullahi of breach of trust and fraud. According to the petitioner, the defendant claimed to have secured a contractual agreement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and solicited funds amounting to N131.8m and $200,000 for its execution.
However, after receiving the money, Abdullahi allegedly failed to provide updates on the project, and all efforts to recover the funds proved abortive.
One of the counts reads:
“That you, Umar Abdullahi, sometime between July 2024 and August 2024, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did accept and transact cash payment of $200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Dollars) for allotment of shares in Multi Access Controls Limited, in excess of the Ten Million Naira threshold, without transacting through a financial institution, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 2 (1) (a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19 (2) (b) of the same Act.”
Another count reads:
“That you, Umar Abdullahi, sometime in June 2024, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N104,980,000.00 (One Hundred and Four Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) into Account Number: 2266267081, domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc, from Aura Integrated Energy Resources Limited under the false pretence that the money was for procurement of telecommunication equipment and logistics for Nigerian Communications Commission staff, a pretence you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Cosmas Ugwu, urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending trial, noting that he had earlier jumped the administrative bail granted him by the Commission.
Defence counsel, A.O. Agbonlahor, however, pleaded that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody instead, pending the commencement of trial.
In a bench ruling, Justice Nwite ordered that Abdullahi be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Service and adjourned the case to September 8, 2025, for trial.
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