TWO convicted drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, on Monday narrated how some top officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) allegedly aided them to beat security checks at Enugu International Airport before their arrest by the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
The duo, who had since served their two-year jail term, told Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja in a video evidence played in the open court at the instance of a former head of IRT, Abba Kyari, and his co-defendants.
Justice Nwite had, on February 27, admitted the video recording of the confessional statements by the two drug traffickers tendered by the Nigeria Police through Insp El-John Nwoke, the 2nd defence witness (DW-2), in the ongoing trial of Kyari and four police officers.
Other defendants include ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba, and Inspector John Nuhu, who were all officers of the Police IRT.
Nwoke, while testifying on Jan. 28, had told the court that Umeibe and Ezenwanne, after their arrest by the IRT officers, confessed to the police investigating team how NDLEA operatives allegedly shielded them at the airport on Jan. 19, 2022, before the police arrested them.
The witness said that a video recording of the interview session was downloaded onto a DVD.
However, when Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) had sought to tender the video recording as evidence in the case, the NDLEA’s lawyer, Joseph Sunday, objected, and after a prolonged argument, the judge fixed Feb. 27 for a ruling.
Following the ruling of Justice Nwite admitting the video recording in evidence and marking it as “Exhibit D-3,” Abdul Mohammed, SAN, who appeared for Kyari on Monday, applied that the video recording, tendered through the DW-2, who is a subpoenaed witness, be played in open court.
“We apply to play that CD before this honourable court so as to demonstrate the defendants’ case before this court, ” he said.
The senior lawyer told the court that the video recording was about 27 minutes and two seconds long.
He said the two convicted drug traffickers were the ones who testified as the 6th and 7th prosecution witnesses in the case.
Responding, the prosecuting lawyer did not raise an objection to Mohammed’s application, and the judge directed that the video recording be played.
Umeibe and Ezenwanne, while being interrogated by the police team, were seeing, standing, and responding to questions put across to them.
“Whatever you say in this video shall be tendered as evidence against you in any court of law,” one of the interviewers had said.
Umeibe, who said he was 29 years old at the time, told the police investigating team how he was lured into the trafficking of hard drugs by a friend called Bassey.
He said he got into the illicit business due to financial problems. He confessed that the police arrested him with the cocaine at the Enugu International Airport.
When he was asked if he actually trafficked the cocaine, Umeibe responded in the affirmative.
He said he bought the substance from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and brought it into the country.
When he was asked if it was lawful or unlawful to traffic cocaine, he said, “It is unlawful. ”
Umeibe, who said he benefited N500,000 from the first trip in 2021, said this was the second time he would be engaging in the business.
He explained how the substance is packaged before embarking on the journey.
When he was asked the actual quantity of the substance he trafficked, he said he did not know what it was.
When asked who usually collected the drugs from them, he said, “We don’t know who will collect the drugs.
“After we leave the airport, we will take the night bus to Lagos and call the person we will hand over the drugs to,” he said.
He said he was expected to also benefit from the sum of N500, 000 from the instant trip.
When asked who would deliver the money to him, he said it was the person they would call as soon as they reached Lagos State.
He explained how transactions running into billions of naira sighted on his phone with samples of substance suspected to be cocaine, were carried out.
Ezenwanne, who said he was 45 years old at the time, said he holds a secondary school certificate.
He confirmed that the police arrested him at the Enugu International Airport with cocaine.
He said, though he had travelled up to four times, this was the second time he would be trafficking cocaine.
“The other times, I came back without any cocaine, ” he said.
He said he was into clothing business before he went into cocaine trafficking.
Ezenwanne also said he was lured into drug trafficking through his friends, who are Brazilian-based.
He said that after he was given the substance, he was told that someone would call him as soon as he got to Lagos.
He added that he used the money to pay some of the debts I owed and used the rest to take care of his family.
Ezenwanne, who said he does not take cocaine, said trafficking it is illegal and that it is not good for human health.
On how they beat security checks at the airport, he said: “At first, while I accept this is because of the situation of things for me.”
He said that when he is given the substance, his photograph would be taken and used to process his easy access at the airport.
“My picture will be sent to the NDLEA (officers) at the airport by the person who sent me this thing (cocaine).
“After I snap the picture, I will give it to the person who gave me this stuff. He is the one who will use it for other things, which I don’t know.
“But for me, I think it is for the NDLEA,” he said.
Also speaking on how they usually have easy access into the country, Umeibe said: “If we want to move from Addis Ababa, we will snap pictures and send them to the person who sent us.
“The person will now send it to NDLEA (officers). So when we get to the airport, they will now know us and clear us, ” he also said.
When asked if the officers at the airport don’t normally search them, Umeibe said, “They will open the bag and cover it again.”
When he was asked if they usually search them properly or not, he said: “Not properly.”
Umeibe said the anti-narcotic officers at the airport already knew they were coming, hence, there would be no thorough checks on their luggage.
After the video recording ended, the defence lawyer sought an adjournment to enable them to cross-check their transcript with what they had before they continued to examine the witness.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until April 20 and 21 for the continuation of the trial.