Local Government Vice Chairman Arrested With Cocaine At Lagos Airport

NDLEA arrests Local Government Vice Chairman With Cocaine At Lagos Airport

Asekun Kehinde Sakiru, a one time Vice Chairman of Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

Asekun was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for having in his possession cocaine which was concealed in pairs of slippers.

According to Femi Babafemi, the
Spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Sakiru has been on the wanted list of the agency since the arrest of some traffickers and the seizure of some drugs which were linked to him.

Babafemi said the long arm of the law caught up with the suspect at about 9.40pm on Friday 7th May, 2021 while trying to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London, United Kingdom at the Lagos airport.

He has been on the wanted list of the MMIA Command of the Agency in connection to a case involving one Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim who was arrested with 6.45kg of cocaine in December, 2020.

At the point of the arrest, Asekun had in his possesion a kilogramme of cocaine which was concealed in five pairs of palm slippers packed inside his suitcase.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the London based suspect was the vice chairman of Lagos Island East LCDA between 2004 and 2014 and he also contested elections for House of Representatives in 2007 and the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015 but lost.

Asekun who claims to be an international businessman and deals in automobiles, is still under investigation as the source of his wealth is yet to be ascertained.

So far, the sum of N131 million has been recovered from his account and N14 million from his counterpart Azeez Adeniyi, making a total sum of N145 million.

Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), while commending the officers and men at the airport, stated that the problem of drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria will be drastically reduced if all stakeholders get involved.

“This arrest is yet another message and red alert to those still in this criminal trade whether as barons or traffickers that they will soon enter the dragnet of the Agency, daily being spread across the country, if they fail to back out especially now that we are moving all out for the barons and the big cartels while we continue to reign in the traffickers, Gen. Marwa stated.