Businessman Lands In Trouble As NDLEA Secures Conviction Over Raphnol Export

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced the Chief Executive Officer and Director of G Care Pharm Limited, Megwalu Chukwudi Bob-Manuel, to four years in prison for the unlawful exportation of 8.30 kilogrammes of Raphnol, a psychotropic substance under international control.

Bob-Manuel was convicted after pleading guilty to a two-count charge bordering on the unlawful procurement and attempted exportation of the prohibited substance.

Justice Aluko ordered that the four-year sentence imposed on each count should run concurrently, with the jail term commencing from the date of the convict’s arrest.

According to the prosecutor, Arit N. Okon, the offences were committed on July 24, 2026, at the NAHCO Export Shed, a Customs-controlled area of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.

The court heard that during the examination of a consignment bound for Nairobi, Kenya, Bob-Manuel allegedly procured the services of Justina of Tina Travels Service Limited and Anosie Ebube of Fair Express to facilitate the exportation of the 8.30kg of Raphnol.

He was also accused of attempting to personally export the controlled substance from the same airport to Nairobi without lawful authority.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 21(2)(c) and 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and were punishable under Section 11(b) of the Act.

Bob-Manuel admitted to committing the offences and entered a guilty plea to both counts.

Following the plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case and tendered the relevant exhibits through a witness before asking the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.

However, counsel to the convict, Chief Benson Ndakara, assisted by Kate Igbo, urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

The defence lawyer pointed out that Bob-Manuel was a first-time offender with no previous conviction and had saved the court’s time by pleading guilty to the charges.

Counsel also appealed to the court to consider a non-custodial option in place of imprisonment.

After considering the facts of the case, the quantity of the controlled substance involved and the mitigating factors presented by the defence, Justice Aluko sentenced Bob-Manuel to four years’ imprisonment on each count.

The judge ordered that both sentences should run concurrently.

However, Justice Aluko granted the convict the option of paying a ₦1 million fine in lieu of the four-year prison sentence, following the plea by his counsel.