The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) final forfeiture of a building at 14, Okechukwu Madueke Street, Star-Times Estate, Okota, linked to alleged drug trafficker, Chidibest Ibewuike, who remains at large.
Justice Musa Kakaki issued the order in suit FHC/L/MISC/1342/'25 after hearing an application moved by Ibrahim Abu, a Commander of Narcotics with the NDLEA.
Abu told the court the application was brought under Sections 36(1), 44(1), and 44(2)(b) & (k) of the 1999 Constitution, and Sections 7, 9, 10, 11, 17 & 74 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.
The application was supported by a 10-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Okonkwo Ebuka Anthony, a litigation officer with the NDLEA’s Prosecution and Legal Services Unit, Murtala Mohammed International Airport Strategic Command.
According to the affidavit, the case stems from the February 10, 2024 arrest of a freight agent with Matt Pee Logistics Company found with 49.70 kilograms of heroin concealed in cutting machines.
Investigations, according to the NDLEA, implicated Chidibest Ibewuike as a member of the drug syndicate behind the importation.
Ibewuike is said to be at large since February 10, 2024, with all efforts to trace him proving abortive.
Further investigation, the NDLEA said, revealed that the Okota property is reasonably suspected to belong to Ibewuike and was derived from proceeds of drug trafficking.
The NDLEA noted that the true ownership remains unknown, as checks at the Lagos State Lands Bureau, Office of the Registrar of Titles, did not reveal any registered owner.
The court had earlier granted an interim preservatory order on December 10, 2025, and directed that it be published in a national newspaper.
The order was advertised on page 26 of PUNCH Newspapers on December 18, 2025. No contest or claim of interest was filed by any party following the publication.
Ruling on the motion, Justice Kakaki held that the applicant had complied with all statutory requirements and ordered the final forfeiture of the property to the Federal Government, stating that it was derived from unlawful drug dealing and trafficking in 49.70kg of heroin.
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