A businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, and his wife, Rosemary Uchenna, were sentenced on Monday, August 4, to a combined 22 and a half years in prison by Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court 8 in Lagos for drug trafficking.
The couple was initially arrested on Friday, June 13, by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the Ojo area and handed over to the NDLEA along with 277.5 kg of skunk—a potent strain of cannabis. While still under investigation, credible intelligence revealed that the illegal drug operations were ongoing at their home. This led to a raid on their residence and a packing store on Tuesday, July 1, where NDLEA operatives recovered an additional 231 kg of the same substance.
They were arraigned under charge number FHC/L/632C/2025 at the Federal High Court in Lagos on a four-count charge related to conspiracy, dealing, and storage of 414.2 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
Confirming the arraignment, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi stated that Justice Dipeolu, in her judgment on August 4, convicted Mrs. Rosemary Uchenna on three counts and sentenced her to 17 years in prison without an option of fine. Her husband, Johnson Ajah Uchenna, was convicted on count one and sentenced to five years in prison without option of fine, and on count four, sentenced to six months with an option of a ₦1 million fine.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of ₦3,407,000 recovered from the couple as proceeds of crime to the Federal Government in addition to the jail terms.
