Court remands 50-year-old over alleged drug dealing

A Federal High Court in Ibadan on Monday ordered the remand of a 50-year-old suspected drug dealer, Surajdeen Alabere, at the Agodi Correctional Centre.

The Presiding Judge, Justice N.E. Maha, gave the order after Alabere pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of unlawful dealing in narcotic.

Maha adjourned the suit until Nov. 19 for commencement of trial.

It was reported that Alabere, who was docked for allegedly trafficking 47 kilogrammes of “cannabis sativa”, was being prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Earlier, counsel to NDLEA’s Oyo State Command, Ms Rachael Ige, had told the court that the defendant was facing a one-count charge bordering on unlawful dealing in illicit substance.

Ige added that NDLEA operatives arrested the defendant on July 23 at Kisi, in the Irepo Local Government Area of Oyo State.

She said the operatives acted on a tip-off from concerned Nigerians that Alabere was into the business of drug trafficking.

The counsel added that the defendant was subsequently apprehended in possession of a sack containing the illicit substance.

The prosecutor further stated that the offence contravened Section 11 (C) of the NDLEA Act Cap n30 Law of the federation 2004.