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A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos presided over by Justice Akintayo Aluko today ordered the final forfeiture of a property belonging to a suspected run- away drug trafficker, Chidozie Francis Orji to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The forfeited property situated at Number 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace, Okota Lagos consist of
four (4) three-bedroom flats and one (1) four-bedroom duplex.
The order of final forfeiture by Justice Akintayo Aluko was consequent upon a motion for the final forfeiture of the said property to the Federal Government of Nigeria filed and argued by Barrister Buhari Abdullahi counsel to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Following the escape of the suspect during a raid on the property at No. 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace, Okota, Lagos State on August 7, 2026, by a team of NDLEA operatives wherein a recorded cough syrup laden with codeine weighing 37,760 kilogramme was recovered, NDLEA on September 3, 2026 obtained an order for the interim forfeiture of the property.
As part of the order, the court also
directed that the interim forfeiture order should be published in a national daily for the purpose of notifying interested persons and providing opportunities for any person claiming interest in the property to come forward.
The court also ordered the destruction of the huge consignment of the seized drug following an application by the prosecutor, Buhari Abdullahi on the ground that continuing to keep such huge amount of seizure would poss a serious logistic challenges to the agency.
The anti-narcotic agency also stated that between 15 and 17 April 2026, it has recovered and seized a cumulative quantity of approximately 190.9 tonnes of cough syrup containing codeine and 1 tonne of Tramadol from two rented warehouses situated within the same area of Ago Palace, Okota, Lagos State, which recoveries were linked by investigation to Chidozie Francis Orji.
NDLEA further stated that Chidozie Francis Orji has remained on its wanted list in connection with the ongoing investigation and that it will continues to take lawful steps to secure his arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
When the matter came up today, Abdullahi while moving the application for final forfeiture of the property told Justice Akintoye Aluko that the order of interim forfeiture made on September 3, 2026 by the court has been complied with.
Abdullahi told the court that the order of the court was carried out to the letter by publishing it in the Punch newspaper of Friday, September 11, 2026, at page 25, Volume 51, No. 23,847, for the purpose of notifying interested persons.
The prosecutor submitted that in the course of investigating the ownership of the property situated at No. 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace, Okota, Lagos State, the property was traced to one Barrister Bosun Kenneth Fabiyi, who was identified as the previous owner.
That Barrister Bosun Kenneth Fabiyi was contacted by the Applicant’s investigators and confirmed that he had sold the property to Chidozie Francis Orji.
That Barrister Bosun Kenneth Fabiyi furnished NDLEA with a copy of the executed Deed of Assignment evidencing the transfer of the property to Chidozie Francis Orji, together with receipts and other evidence of payment made by the purchaser through his personal bank account.
Abdullahi said copies of the executed Deed of Assignment between Barrister Bosun Kenneth Fabiyi and Chidozie Francis Orji, together with the available evidence of payment for the property, are attached to this affidavit and marked as Exhibits NDLEA 1 and NDLEA 2, respectively.
That based on the documents obtained and the investigations conducted by the agency, the property has been traced to Chidozie Francis Orji as the purchaser and person identified in the transaction documents as its owner.
The prosecutor further submitted that since the property was sealed by the agency on August 7, 2026, Chidozie Francis Orji has not appeared before the agency to explain the circumstances surrounding the property, recovery of the narcotic drug or to participate in the ongoing investigation.
”To the best of my knowledge and from the records available to the agency, no other person has come forward to claim ownership of the property or to provide information establishing a competing interest in it.
Abdullahi therefore urged the court to grant his application for an order that the property be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
After listening to the prosecution and perusing the documents placed before him and in the absence of any opposition to the application, Justice Akintayo Aluko granted an order forfeiting the said property to the Federal Governent of Nigeria.
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