Lagos court sends ex-footballer and drug dealer to prison for 24 years

A former international footballer, Segun Hunkarin, and a wanted drug dealer, Ntoruka Chinedu, have been sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos for bringing cocaine into Nigeria.

Justice Musa Kakaki gave the sentences after finding both men guilty of illegally importing 7.05 kilograms of cocaine.

A statement from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said Chinedu was first taken to court in September 2015 for bringing in 6.25 kilograms of cocaine but ran away after getting bail. He was on the run for almost 10 years.

The agency reported that he was caught again on June 24, 2025, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, while trying to smuggle in another 800 grams of cocaine on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

NDLEA's investigations showed that Chinedu traveled from Turkey and stopped in Ethiopia, where he allegedly picked up the bag filled with cocaine before heading to Nigeria.

They also said Hunkarin, who had played football professionally in Brazil, was arrested at the airport car park while waiting to collect the drugs.

According to the NDLEA, Hunkarin admitted in his statement that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his football days in South America.

"Investigation showed that the convict was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but stopped in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.

"Further checks revealed that an accomplice, who turned out to be a former professional footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport car park to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin, who had spent years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was tracked and arrested at the car park," the statement read.

Both men faced three charges of conspiracy and illegal importation of 800 grams of cocaine.

In his judgment on Friday, Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years in prison without an option of fine for the 2015 cocaine case and an extra two years for working with Hunkarin to import the 800 grams of cocaine. This brought his total sentence to 22 years.

Hunkarin received a two-year sentence for conspiracy, making their combined prison time 24 years.

During the trial, NDLEA prosecutor Adekunle Adebajo reminded the court that Chinedu had been arraigned before Justice Salihu Saudi in 2015 but skipped bail before his trial ended. He urged the court to convict both men according to the NDLEA Act.

The lawyers for the convicts pleaded for mercy and asked the court to impose fines instead of prison time, but the court turned down this request.

After the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), called the conviction a confirmation of the judiciary’s fight against drug trafficking.

Marwa said, "The eventual re-arrest of Chinedu after nearly 10 years on the run showed the determination, patience, and thoroughness of NDLEA operatives in finding fugitives and making sure no drug dealer escapes the law."

He also praised the officers involved in the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of this case and emphasized the agency’s commitment to working with the judiciary and others to ensure that drug traffickers are punished, no matter their status or how long they evade capture.