Trial resumed yesterday in the drug case involving the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Abba Kyari with revelations of how security agents receive bribes from traffickers to bring drug into the country.
In his testimony before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, one of the two convicts, Mr. Emeka Ezenwanne, narrated how he bribed security agents with N10,000 to be allowed to bring into the country, several packs of cocaine that was sent to him from Brazil.
Both Ezenwanne and Chibunna Patrick Umeibe who were charged alongside Kyari and four members of his team; ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Inspectors Simon Agirigba and John Nuhu.
They have since pleaded guilty and have been convicted and handed two years jail term.
Testifying as the fifth prosecution witness, (PW5), Ezenwanne who was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr Sunday Joseph, told the court that he brought in the cocaine which was sent to him from Brazil, using Ethiopian airline.
He said: “My lord, what happened was that on January 15, 2022, I travelled to Addis Ababa to bring cocaine with the help of Iwolabi from Brazil. I used Ethiopian Airlines with my international passport.
“Iwolabi sent his boys from Brazil to hand the cocaine to me.
“When I arrived in Ethiopia, my ticket was supposed to lead me to Cameroon, but I deliberately stopped at Addis Ababa Airport so that I would miss the flight heading to Cameroon.
“The reason was so that I could meet the people that were to hand me the stuff.
“On January 16, around 8:30p.m. Ethiopian time, the flight coming from Brazil arrived. Few minutes after, they called me on phone. The first person that called me is known as Alhaji.
“He called and asked where I was. I told him to meet me at the lounge. He came and handed over to me six sachets of cocaine on white cotton packs and left.
“The second person called me, his name is Ota. He asked me the same question and I also told him to meet me at the lounge.
“He came and handed to me four sachets of cocaine in white cotton packs. It became a total of 10 sachets.
“He then snapped me with his phone and left.
“My second, Chibunna, was there before me. We met and by then he had already received his own. We stayed together because our flight was scheduled to leave on January 19.
“On that January 19, in the morning, around 8am, we boarded a flight going to Enugu International Airport.
“When we arrived at Enugu, I was the first person to come out from the airport. I stood at the car park waiting for my second to come out.
Narrating the circumstances that led to his arrest, Ezenwanne who is currently in Suleja Correctional Centre said he was his second came out and was heading towards him, one woman and two men intercepted him.
“When I looked at them, I noticed that they were having an argument. As I came close to know what was happening, there was one Sienna car that was packed there.
“As I arrived, the four doors of the car opened and men jumped out from the car. What I heard was, ‘I did not see this one o’.
“As they held me, I shouted Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Is this how I am going to end? As they grabbed me and my second, they brought out their jackets with IRT written on them.
“They shared it among themselves and wore it. That was when I knew that they were police because of the shout and noise we made at the airport, people gathered. They pushed us inside that car and drove off. They took us to one empty police station near the airport.
“They brought out our bags and opened them. The team leader exclaimed; confirm! confirm! and snapped the cocaine.
“At that point, my second, begged them to leave us and carry the cocaine. They slapped him and asked if he was not aware that he would beg when he was shouting at the airport.”
The witness said they were subsequently brought to the IRT office in Abuja, where they were locked up after their statements were taken.
“While I was writing my statement, the team leader, Bawa, came in and asked me how many sachets of cocaine I have in my bag. I told him that I didn’t know.
“He also asked me if I was aware of the quantity my second had in his bag and I told him I didn’t know that he should go and ask him. So he left.
“On January 21, they took us to one Grade 1 Magistrate court here in Abuja. When we got there, after some time, about an hour, the person that took us there, the 4th defendant, told us that his boss said they should bring us back.
“When we asked him why, he said he did not know but that they are trying to help us. When they took us back to the station, the team leader came to us and said they were taking us to the NDLEA.
“I knelt down immediately and begged him not to take us there. He said it was a directive from his boss but that they are still having a discussion on the matter. So, they took us back to the cell.
“On January 25, around 4pm, they brought us out again. I asked my IPO, AY, where they were taking us to and he said it was to the NDLEA.
The witness told the court that the drugs were tampered with.
‘When we came out to enter the car, when we saw our bags, we noticed that the size was not the same again.
“As we carried the bags inside the car, we also noticed that the weight had reduced.
“After then, they took us to the NDLEA and the person in charge of the team, they called him ‘too much money (currently at large).
“When we got there, they took us inside one office and brought out our bags. The Commander in that office came and told the exhibit officer to check everything.
“But when they opened our bags, I noticed that there was a strange thing. When they bought out those sachets of cocaine inside my bag, it was only eight sachets instead of 10.
