The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has refused bail to detained businessman Kazeem Afolabi, popularly known as KC Luxury, and two other defendants standing trial over an alleged 184.5-kilogramme cocaine shipment and related money-laundering charges.
Justice Musa Kakaki, in rejecting the bail applications on Friday, said he considered the seriousness of the offences alleged against the defendants, the punishment prescribed upon conviction and the possibility that they could abscond if released pending trial.
The court also took into account the prevalence of illicit drug trafficking and its wider effect on society before ordering that the three defendants remain in custody.
Afolabi is being tried alongside Boniface Sule and Ikechukwu Patriarch on a 22-count charge filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. He is named in 21 of the 22 counts.
All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The NDLEA arraigned them on September 25 on allegations bordering on cocaine trafficking, unlawful export of narcotic drugs and money laundering. Following their pleas, the court had ordered that they remain in the agency’s custody while their bail applications were considered.
With Friday’s ruling, the defendants will remain detained as the case moves into substantive trial.
Justice Kakaki adjourned further proceedings to November 2 through November 5 and directed that the matter be heard on a day-to-day basis during the period.
The criminal case arose from the interception of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine at a DHL facility located within the premises of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company in Ikeja, Lagos, on August 3.
The NDLEA valued the seized drugs at about N39 billion and described the interception as the largest cocaine seizure it had recorded through a courier company in Nigeria.
According to the agency, the cocaine was concealed in five consignments allegedly prepared for shipment to London, with Yemi Ejide listed as the shipper.
The prosecution alleged that Afolabi, Sule and Patriarch worked with Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf in connection with the planned export.
The NDLEA said Oluwarotimi and Yusuf were subsequently arrested in London as part of the broader investigation.
Investigators further alleged that Afolabi used an employee of BOT Express Logistics on Lagos Island to process the consignments and that N13.2 million was paid from an account belonging to Mallamawa Ventures with Zenith Bank in relation to the alleged shipment.
The agency claims the consignment formed part of an international trafficking network allegedly moving cocaine from South America through Nigeria to the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.
NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, had earlier described Afolabi as the alleged Nigerian “arrowhead” of the network. That description forms part of the agency’s case and has not been established by the court.
Afolabi was arrested on August 13 at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while preparing to travel to Paris.
The NDLEA said operatives recovered €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000 in cash from him, alongside jewellery and other items.
The agency also said exotic vehicles and other assets were recovered from his Banana Island residence.
Beyond the cocaine-trafficking allegations, the prosecution is accusing Afolabi of moving billions of naira through several personal and corporate accounts.
The accounts identified by the agency include those belonging to Mallamawa Ventures, Fateey Man Multi-Purpose Nigeria Limited, Patonifa Limited, Ade-Lak Resources, Holmestas Global Services Limited and La Capital Enterprises.
The NDLEA alleges that some of the funds were used to purchase vehicles and landed property as part of efforts to conceal proceeds allegedly linked to drug trafficking.
Afolabi is also accused of failing to declare his assets to the agency as required by law.
His detention has already generated a separate legal dispute.
Before the criminal charge was filed, Afolabi had spent more than a month in NDLEA custody after another judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Akintayo Aluko, on August 20 authorised the agency to detain him for 30 days while investigations continued.
That court also ordered the preservation of funds in his Providus Bank account and other accounts connected to his Bank Verification Number.
Afolabi, through his lawyer, Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, SAN, challenged the detention order, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to extend the detention of a suspect who had not yet been charged.
The defence relied on Sections 293 to 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, particularly Section 296(1).
The NDLEA opposed the application and maintained that the order was obtained to enable it to complete its investigation and was not a remand order made under the provisions of the ACJA relied upon by the defence.
Justice Aluko dismissed Afolabi’s challenge on September 17, holding that the provisions relied upon by his lawyers did not apply to the circumstances before the court.
The judge further held that the materials presented disclosed reasonable suspicion of a drug-related offence and justified a temporary restriction of Afolabi’s liberty.
Afolabi has also filed a separate fundamental-rights action before Justice Friday Ogazi challenging his continued detention.
In that suit, he is seeking release or bail pending the filing of any criminal charge, as well as damages over claims relating to his arrest, detention, privacy and the publication of photographs and videos of him while in NDLEA custody.
The criminal case has, however, since moved beyond the investigation stage, with all three defendants now formally arraigned and pleading not guilty.
Friday’s decision means Afolabi, Sule and Patriarch will remain in custody pending the continuation of the trial in November.
The charges against them remain allegations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until the prosecution proves the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
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