Ex-Footballer, Fugitive Drug Trafficker Jailed 24 Years for Cocaine Smuggling in Nigeria

A former professional footballer and a fugitive drug trafficker have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison after a Federal High Court in Lagos found them guilty of cocaine trafficking offences linked to more than seven kilograms of the illicit drug.

Justice Musa Kakaki handed down the sentences after convicting Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and former international footballer Segun George Hunkarin for their roles in the importation of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama reported that Chinedu was initially arraigned in 2015 for importing 6.25 kilograms of cocaine. However, after being granted bail, he allegedly absconded and remained on the run for nearly a decade before his eventual arrest.

NDLEA operatives rearrested Chinedu on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, while he was allegedly attempting to smuggle another 800 grams of cocaine into the country aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. Investigators said he collected the drug consignment during a stopover in the Ethiopian capital after travelling from Turkey.

The investigation also led to the arrest of Hunkarin, who was reportedly waiting at the airport car park to receive the shipment. During interrogation, the former footballer allegedly admitted that he had trafficked illicit drugs on two occasions while playing professional football in Brazil.

Delivering judgment, Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years imprisonment for the 2015 cocaine importation case and an additional two years for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the 800-gram consignment. The sentences bring his total jail term to 22 years.

Hunkarin received two years imprisonment without the option of a fine after being convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

Reacting to the ruling, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the conviction as a strong signal that the agency remains committed to pursuing drug traffickers, regardless of how long they evade arrest. He said the judgment underscores the NDLEA’s determination to ensure fugitives are brought to justice.