Court Remands Businessman Over Cocaine Trafficking

courtJustice Musa Kurya of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday ordered that a 36 year-old businessman, Moses Nwizu, charged with drug trafficking, be remanded in prison custody.

Nwizu is being prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a charge of unlawfully importing about 1.57 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Kurya ordered the remand of the accused in the Ikoyi Prisons, pending the determination of his bail application and adjourned the case till Dec. 5 for trial.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Emmanuel Vembeh, told the court that the accused was arrested by officers of the NDLEA on Sept. 14, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.

He said that the accused was apprehended during the inward clearance of passengers on board a Qatar Airline flight from Brazil.

According to Vembeh, the NDLEA recovered 1.57 kilograms of the narcotic concealed in a neatly wrapped package from the accused.

The offence is said to contravene the provisions of Sections 11 (a) of the NDLEA Act, 2004. (NAN)