Lagos court jails former footballer, fugitive drug kingpin for 24 years

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced former Nigerian international footballer Segun Hunkarin and a fugitive drug kingpin, Ntoruka Chinedu, to a combined 24 years in prison for importing cocaine into Nigeria. Justice Musa Kakaki delivered the sentences after finding the duo guilty of charges related to the unlawful importation of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine.

Ntoruka Chinedu faced charges dating back to September 2015 for importing 6.25kg of cocaine. He absconded after being granted bail and remained at large for nearly a decade. Chinedu was apprehended again on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while attempting to smuggle an additional 800 grams of cocaine aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

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Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 over the importation of 6.25kg of cocaine but absconded after being granted bail, remaining at large for nearly 10 years.

Investigations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) revealed that Chinedu had traveled from Turkey, transiting through Ethiopia, where he allegedly collected the cocaine-laden luggage before proceeding to Nigeria. Segun Hunkarin, who had a professional football career in Brazil, was arrested at the airport's car park, where he was waiting to receive the consignment from Chinedu. Hunkarin admitted during his statement that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his football career.

Both men were subsequently arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful importation of 800 grams of cocaine. Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for the 2015 cocaine importation case. He received an additional two years for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the 800 grams, bringing his total sentence to 22 years. Hunkarin was sentenced to two years for conspiracy, resulting in the combined jail terms totaling 24 years.

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Hunkarin, who had spent years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was promptly tracked and arrested at the car park.