Two convicted drug traffickers have told a court that some operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency allegedly assisted them in bypassing security checks at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport before their eventual arrest.
The convicts, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, made the claims in a video evidence played on Monday before Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The video recording was admitted as evidence in the ongoing trial of former Abba Kyari, a former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team, and four other police officers.
The co-defendants include Sunday J. Ubua, Bawa James, Simon Agirgba, and John Nuhu.
The video, which lasted about 27 minutes, contained confessional statements earlier made by the two traffickers during interrogation by police investigators after their arrest by the IRT.
According to testimony by police witness El-John Nwoke, the suspects were arrested on January 19, 2022, after allegedly transporting cocaine into Nigeria.
During the recorded interview played in court, Umeibe admitted that he bought cocaine in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and smuggled it into Nigeria through the Enugu airport.
He said the drug trafficking operation was arranged by a friend identified as Bassey, adding that he earned ₦500,000 from his first trip in 2021 and expected the same amount from the second trip.
Umeibe explained that after arriving in Nigeria, they were instructed to travel by night bus to Lagos, where they would contact a person who would collect the drugs and pay them.
Both traffickers also told investigators that their photographs were allegedly sent ahead to certain NDLEA officers at the airport to facilitate their passage.
“My picture will be sent to the NDLEA officers at the airport by the person who sent me this thing,” Ezenwanne said in the video.
He claimed that once the officers recognised them at the airport, their luggage would only be briefly opened without thorough inspection.
Umeibe similarly alleged that the anti-narcotics officers already knew they were arriving and therefore did not conduct detailed searches on their bags.
After the video was played in court, defence counsel Abdul Mohammed requested an adjournment to enable the defence team cross-check the transcript of the recording.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the case until April 20 and 21 for continuation of the trial.
