NDLEA threatens to prosecute sureties as 26 drug traffickers jump bail

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ahmadu Giade has threatened to take legal action against those that stood as sureties for drug accused who have jumped

bail over 796.39kg of narcotics worth 387 million naira. The NDLEA boss made the disclosure on Saturday June 25, 2011 while speaking on Radio Link, a radio programme on Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Abuja as part of activities marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking.

According to Giade a total of 26 major drug traffickers standing trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos have absconded. “A total of 26 major drug traffickers standing trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos were found to have jumped bail. They have been declared wanted and those that stood as sureties for them will either produce them or be made to face the legal consequences” Giade warned. He added that the inclusion of the Agency in the verification process of sureties will help to check the ugly incident of accused jumping bail.

Among the 26 accused, 23 are being charged in connection with 33.126kg of cocaine. One was caught with 1.063kg of heroin while another was apprehended with 758kg of cannabis. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) country representative in Nigeria, Dr. Oliver Stolpe and Pharmacist Ngozi Onuorah of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) also participated in the two-hours radio programme