Judul : Court orders forfeiture of Lagos hotel, others linked to drug cartel
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Court orders forfeiture of Lagos hotel, others linked to drug cartel
Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a luxury property, vehicles, and electronic appliances believed to be proceeds of illicit drug trafficking.
The order followed a motion filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which traced the assets to a drug cartel led by a fugitive kingpin identified as Noble Phillips.
The forfeited assets include a five-storey building under construction located at No. 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The property, allegedly disguised as a hotel, was used as a base for the drug trafficking syndicate.
Also forfeited were five vehicles: a blue Toyota Sienna (KJA 79 HJ), a white Volkswagen delivery van (AAA 525 JE), an ash Kia Cerato (BOG 860 6Q), a black Land Cruiser Prado (AKD 472 DZ), and a red Grand Caravan Dodge (APP 847 YF).
The court also ordered the forfeiture of 13 refrigerators, 70 air conditioners, and 84 television sets recovered from the property.
The NDLEA’s counsel, Buhari Abdulahi, presented a motion backed by constitutional and statutory provisions, including the NDLEA Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.
He argued that the listed properties were either used in or derived from drug trafficking activities, citing surveillance, raids, and arrests conducted by the agency.
In an affidavit deposed by NDLEA Deputy Commander of Narcotics, Nasir Garba Bungudu, the agency disclosed that intelligence was received in April 2025 about a drug trafficking organisation involved in the large-scale importation and distribution of “Canadian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis sativa.
“After weeks of surveillance, the NDLEA uncovered the syndicate’s operational base at No. 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, which turned out to be a five-storey structure nearing completion with 80 rooms intended for hotel use,” the affidavit stated.
The property was reportedly owned by Noble Phillips, whom the NDLEA described as the cartel’s leader.
During a raid on April 25, 2025, the agency recovered 586 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 415.5 kilograms and valued at over N1 billion.
Although Phillips was said to have escaped during the operation, several individuals were arrested at the scene, including one Ayitu Eze, a key cartel member posing as a hotel receptionist.
Eze was later prosecuted and convicted for unlawful possession and dealing of the 415.5kg drug consignment.
Following his guilty plea, Eze was sentenced on July 2, 2025, to five years imprisonment with an option of a N1 million fine and six months of community service, in Charge No. FHC/L/541c/2025.
According to the NDLEA, further searches of the premises and Phillips’ apartment within the property revealed more quantities of cannabis, land title documents bearing his name, and his ECOWAS international passport.
A separate consignment of the drug was discovered in one of the hotel rooms used by a fugitive associate of the kingpin, the NDLEA stated.
NDLEA submitted that a court order had earlier been obtained on May 8, 2025, to preserve the assets pending final forfeiture.
In compliance with the directive, the agency published a notice in the Daily Sun newspaper on May 19, inviting claims from third parties or any person with a legal interest in the property or items.
“No such claims were made within the required period,” the NDLEA counsel told the court.
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