A Lagos based businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, and his wife, Rosemary, have been sentenced to a combined 22 and a half years in prison for trafficking illicit drugs.
The judgement was handed down on Monday, August 4, 2025, by Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court 8 in Lagos.
The couple was initially arrested on Friday, June 13, in the Ojo area of Lagos by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), who found them in possession of 277.5kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
They were later handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, while the suspects were still in custody, fresh intelligence revealed that their drug trafficking operation was still ongoing from their residence.
This led to a follow-up raid by NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, July 1, during which an additional 231kg of cannabis was recovered from their home and a nearby storage facility.
The couple was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos in case number FHC/L/632C/2025 on a four-count charge relating to conspiracy, drug dealing, and unlawful possession of a total of 414.2kg of cannabis sativa.
In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu convicted Mrs. Rosemary Uchenna on counts 1, 2, and 3, sentencing her to 17 years in prison without the option of a fine while her husband, Johnson Uchenna, was found guilty on count 1 and sentenced to five years imprisonment without the option of a fine, and on count 4, he received a six-month sentence with an option of a ₦1 million fine.
The court also ordered that ₦3,407,000 recovered from the couple, believed to be proceeds of the drug trade be forfeited to the Federal Government.
