An inspector with the Force Criminal Investigation Department, El-John Nwonke, on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency aided convicted drug traffickers to beat security checks at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
Nwonke, the second defence witness in the ongoing cocaine trial of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, said the traffickers confessed that NDLEA officers cleared them on arrival from Ethiopia before they were arrested by police officers.
He told the court that during an interview session recorded on January 20, 2022, the convicts, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, revealed that their handlers sent their photographs and clothing details ahead to NDLEA officers on duty. “They said when they are coming with this ‘market’ from Ethiopia to Nigeria, the people who give them the job will take their pictures and send them to the NDLEA officers on duty at the airport,” he said.
According to the witness, the convicts explained that once sighted, they used a coded signal to identify themselves to the officers.
“Mr Nwonke said the convicts told him that as soon as the NDLEA officers sight them, they (the convicts) will put up a smiling face as a code to the officers on duty,” adding that officers would unzip and re-zip their bags to signify clearance. He said the traffickers told him they had operated in that manner for a long time and referred to the substance as “market,” noting that delivery was usually arranged after successful arrival.
When defence counsel sought to tender the video recording of the confessional statements and related documents, the NDLEA objected to the admissibility of the video and certificate of compliance, prompting Justice Emeka Nwite to adjourn the matter until February 27 for ruling and continuation of trial.