Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian, who jumped bail in 2022 after his arraignment in court, has been sentenced to life imprisonment over his involvement in illicit drug trafficking.

His prosecution, along with that of Agbo Chidike Prince, another drug trafficker, was handled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which had arrested the two convicts at different times with wraps of ingested substances.

Christian’s case stands out. After his first arraignment before the court in Abuja, he jumped bail to continue his trade. He was later caught at the Lagos airport in the process of flying to India with 1.822 kilograms he had ingested.

He was prosecuted in Lagos State and handed a seven-year jail term with an option to pay N1,500,000 as a fine. He paid and was taken to Abuja to continue his first case, which has now landed him a lifetime jail term.

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“Two notorious drug kingpins: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince will now spend the rest of their lives in jail, bringing an end to their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,” the NDLEA said in a public statement on Sunday.

“For 43-year-old businessman Uwaezuoke, his journey to a lifetime in jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on 19th March 2022 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after he was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms.

“He was subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty. He thereafter absconded, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.

“In a curious twist, Uwaezuoke was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.

“He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023. He pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦1, 500,000.00.

“He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him. He was re-arraigned on 20th March 2024 at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again.

“Despite his plea, the court, noting his lack of remorse, the seriousness of drug-related offences and the fact that he is a repeated offender, convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

“In the case of 42-year-old Agbo Chidike Prince, he was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong on 21st October 2023 for ingesting 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73grams.

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“Upon his arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.

“Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasized the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on 15th April, 2024 to life imprisonment.”