The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized a multi-million-naira mansion in Lekki, Lagos, located at K-5A/2 Road 14, Victoria Garden City Estate.
This was revealed in a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, and posted on the agency’s Facebook page on Sunday.
According to the statement, Okenwa Chris Nzewi, a convicted drug baron, used the property as a clandestine laboratory for producing methamphetamine. Following Nzewi’s conviction, the mansion and his vehicle, registered as EKY 496 DJ, were forfeited to the federal government.
Nzewi, who was arrested alongside associate Sunny Okeh Ukah, pleaded guilty and received sentences of four and three years in prison, respectively.
The NDLEA’s statement partly reads, “Okenwa was arrested along with his associate, Sunny Okeh Ukah, on July 30, 2022, and subsequently arraigned on four counts in charge number FHC/L/527C/2022 at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
“They both pleaded guilty on July 17, 2023, while they were convicted and sentenced to four and three years imprisonment each, with the option of a fine of four million (N4,000,000) naira and three million (N3,000,000) naira, respectively, in addition to community service for four and three weeks each.
“His vehicle, marked EKY 496 DJ, was equally forfeited to the Federal Government.
“To further deny him enjoying the proceeds of his criminal activity, the NDLEA filed a civil forfeiture charge against the building used as a clandestine laboratory at the Federal High Court Lagos, which initially granted an interim forfeiture order that elapsed on December 6 before the final forfeiture on December 7, 2023.
“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Lagos on Friday, December 15th, arrested a 75-year-old grandma, Mrs. Sekinat Soremekun, for dealing in illicit drugs.
“At the time of her arrest in the Oshodi area of Lagos, quantities of cannabis and liters of codeine syrup were recovered from her. She claimed her son, Segun, who is now at large, supplied her with the illicit substances, which she retailed.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
