By Stephen Simon
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced Megwalu Chukwudi Bob-Manuel, a businessman and Chief Executive Officer of G Care Pharm Limited, to four years imprisonment for the unlawful exportation of 8.30 kilogrammes of Raphnol, a psychotropic substance under international control.
Justice Aluko handed down the verdict after Bob-Manuel pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on unlawful procurement and drug exportation. The court ordered that the four-year terms for both counts run concurrently, taking effect from the date of the convict’s arrest. However, the judge granted the convict an option to pay a ₦1 million fine in lieu of serving the custodial sentence.
Airport Interception and Charges
Prosecuting counsel Arit N. Okon informed the court that the convict committed the offences on July 24, 2026, at the NAHCO Export Shed, a Customs area of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the prosecution, Bob-Manuel attempted to export the 8.30kg of Raphnol concealed within a consignment destined for Nairobi, Kenya. To execute the scheme, he procured two individuals—identified as Justina of Tina Travels Service Limited and Anosie Ebube of Fair Express—to facilitate the shipment.
The offences contravened Sections 21(2)(c) and 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and were punishable under Section 11(b) of the same Act.
The charge sheet in suit
FHC/L/CR/661/2026 read in part:
“That you, Megwalu Chukwudi Bob-Manuel, on the 24th day of July 2026, at NAHCO Export Shed… without lawful authority procured one Justina of Tina Travels Service Limited and one Anosie Ebube of Fair Express caused to be exported 8.30 kilogrammes of Raphnol, a psychotropic substance under international control…”
Following Bob-Manuel’s guilty plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case, tendered the seized substances as exhibits through a witness, and urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
Pleading for leniency, defense counsel Chief Benson Ndakara (leading Kate Igbo) urged the court to temper justice with mercy. He noted that the convict did not waste the time of the court, was a first-time offender with no prior criminal record, and prayed the court to grant a non-custodial option instead of direct imprisonment.
Evaluating the quantity of the controlled substance alongside the mitigating circumstances presented by the defense, Justice Aluko delivered the four-year concurrent sentence on both counts, with the option of a ₦1 million fine.
