A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Tuesday, convicted and sentenced two men, Yusuf Abayomi Azeez and Abideen Kekere-Ekun, for engaging in the unlawful production of harmful synthetic drugs in a clandestine laboratory at the Lekki axis of theState.
The trial judge, Justice Akitoye Aluko, sentenced Azeez to a cumulative term of 18 years’ imprisonment, while Abideen was handed a total of 16 years’ imprisonment.
The court, however, granted both convicts an option of a N10 million fine each instead of serving the jail terms, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.
Justice Aluko also ordered the forfeiture of N1,850,000 recovered from Azeez, alongside other items found at his residence during a search conducted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on the unlawful manufacture of various synthetic narcotic substances, contrary to the provisions of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
When the matter came up for hearing, counsel to the NDLEA, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, informed the court that the prosecution had filed a five-count charge against the defendants and urged the court to order that the charge be read so that the defendants could take their pleas.
Following the court’s directive, the charge was read, and both Azeez and Abideen pleaded guilty to all five counts.
According to the prosecution, the defendants, on or about November 6, 2025, at No. 19, Vincent Eku Street, off Ashela Street, Royal Estate, Ogombo, Lagos State, operated a clandestine laboratory without lawful authority, where they engaged in the production of large quantities of synthetic narcotic substances.
The substances included 9.9 kilograms of MOMB-4en-PINACA, 26.183 kilograms of ADB-CHMINACA, 300 grams of (R)-SF-MDMB, 20 grams of 4-Fluoro Butina, as well as other prohibited synthetic compounds, all classified as narcotic drugs under Nigerian law.
After the guilty plea was entered, the prosecution reviewed the facts of the case by tendering documentary and physical exhibits recovered during the raid of the laboratory.
Ibrahim, thereafter, urged the court to convict the defendants on the basis of their voluntary plea and the evidence placed before the court.
Justice Aluko, after reviewing the exhibits and the facts presented by the prosecution, convicted both defendants as charged.
During allocutus, the counsel for the defence, Chief Benson Ndakara, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
He urged the judge to consider the early guilty plea of the convicts as a demonstration of remorse, adding that they were first-time offenders with no previous criminal records.
Ndakara further appealed to the court to impose a reformatory sentence, arguing that the defendants had learnt their lessons and would become useful members of society if given another chance.
In his judgment, Justice Aluko sentenced Azeez to five years’ imprisonment on count one, two years on count two, six years on count three, two years on count four and three years on count five.
Abideen was sentenced to five years on count one, two years on count two, three years on count three, three years on count four and three years on count five.
All sentences, according to the judge, are to run concurrently, with an option of N10 million fine each.