Court Orders Final Forfeiture of Drug Trafficker’s Property to Nigerian Government

A federal judge in Lagos has ruled that the property of an alleged drug trafficker must be handed over to the Nigerian government. Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court made the decision regarding Chidozie Francis Orji’s real estate during a court session in Ikoyi.

The property, located at No. 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace, Okota, includes four three-bedroom flats and a four-bedroom duplex. This ruling followed a raid on August 7, 2026, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), during which Orji fled to avoid arrest. During the raid, agents seized a large shipment of codeine-based cough syrup weighing about 38 kilograms.

After the seizure, the NDLEA obtained a temporary forfeiture order on September 3, 2026. The court required a public notice to inform any interested parties about the forfeiture. The NDLEA’s lawyer, Buhari Abdullahi, confirmed that this notice was published in The Punch newspaper on September 11, 2026.

Investigations revealed that the property originally belonged to a lawyer, Barrister Bosun Kenneth Fabiyi, who confirmed that he sold it to Orji. Fabiyi provided documentation to support this claim, including a signed contract and bank transaction records.

Since the property was sealed in August, Orji has not come forward to explain the presence of the illegal drugs found in the building. Abdullahi noted that no one else has claimed ownership of the property in court.

Additionally, the NDLEA reported that earlier in April 2026, they seized nearly 191 tonnes of codeine syrup and one tonne of Tramadol from nearby warehouses linked to Orji. The judge also ordered the destruction of the seized drugs, stating that keeping them posed serious risks for the agency.