Canadian Loud storage: Court orders final forfeiture of Lekki mansion

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a property in the Lekki area of Lagos, declaring it an instrument and proceeds of illicit drug trafficking.

The building, located at Block 11, House No. 2, Mobolaji Johnson Estate, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, was forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria following a successful application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The court, presided over by Justice Alexander Owoeye, made the decision after reviewing evidence and listening to the submission made by the counsel for NDLEA, Buhari Abdullahi.

It would be recalled that the NDLEA had sought the final forfeiture of the building, along with all its furniture, fittings, and electrical appliances, confirming the property was used as a storage facility for Canadian Loud, a highly sought-after strain of Cannabis Sativa, and an instrumentality for committing drug offences.

Abdullahi grounded the application on constitutional provisions and various sections of the National Drug Law Enforcement Act, Cap. N30 N 2004 (as amended), as well as the Proceeds of Crimes (Recovery and Management) Act 2022.

The motion was supported by a 28-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Nasir Garba Bungudu, a Deputy Commander of Narcotics (DCN), which provided a detailed narrative of the drug cartel’s activities linked to the property.

The affidavit gave details as to how the NDLEA received confidential, credible information in 2023 regarding a Drug Trafficking Organisation specialising in importing Canadian Loud from Canada to Nigeria and using the Lekki house for storage, distribution, and financing drug trafficking activities.

According to the affidavit, after conducting a series of surveillance operations, the Agency successfully identified the property as the organisation’s base.

The affidavit identified the head of the cartel as Femi Adebanjo, a notorious drug baron residing in Canada who coordinated the drug exportation to Nigeria.

The NDLEA further established that Femi Adebanjo was the one who purchased the property and accommodated his associates, including one Ekwejunor Oritsematosan, who is presently standing trial for drug offences alongside Femaffix Global Services Limited, a company allegedly incorporated to launder drug proceeds.

The Agency equally stated that, in response to its surveillance, its agents conducted a raid on the property on February 5, 2023.

While the operation lasted, the Agency revealed that it recovered 1.088 kilograms of Canadian Loud and arrested five members of the cartel: Tijani Oladapo Hakeem, Eric Makuo, Adaobi Fortune, Ahmed Jubril, and Ekwejunor Oritsematosan.

The affidavit noted that four of the arrested cartel members confessed to the drug offences committed inside the house, subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges, and were convicted and sentenced accordingly.

The evidence further confirmed that the drug kingpin, Femi Adebanjo, is now at large, and the investigation established his ownership of the property.

While addressing the court, the NDLEA lawyer confirmed that following the initial interim forfeiture order made on March 20, 2024, the Agency published the details of the property in a national newspaper on May 20, 2024.

He said a subsequent renewal order and republication were made on July 1, 2025, and August 1, 2025, respectively, to recall the attention of the owner or any interested party.

The affidavit explicitly stated: “That since the sealing of the landed property, the owner refused to show up for investigation and there is no person(s) ever come forward to either claim or offer to lead the Agency’s investigators for the tracing of owner(s) of the said property.”

Justice Owoeye, satisfied that no party came forward to challenge the forfeiture and that the property was indeed used as an instrument for illicit activities, granted the order for the final forfeiture of the Lekki mansion and its contents to the Federal Government of Nigeria.