11th May, 2022
Nigerian billionaire businessman, Chief Afam Mallinson Ukatu alleged to have imported N22 billion worth of Tramadol, has slammed N200 million suit on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The fundamental human rights suit has been instituted at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
Ukatu is currently in detention of the NDLEA, which had earlier alleged that he was the brain behind a N3 billion shipment of Tramadol linked to the embattled police chief, Abba Kyari.
The NDLEA accused him of importing into Nigeria two containers containing 1,284 cartons of Tramadol.
Ukatu is asking the court order NDLEA to release him from detention unconditionally
He said the NDLEA had failed to arraign him since he was arrested on 13 April and also failed to grant him administrative bail.
Ukatu wanted the court to declare his arrest by the NDLEA illegal and sought for a perpetual injunction restraining the agency from further arresting him after he had been released contrary to his fundamental rights to liberty and freedom as enshrined in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) among other laws.
However, NDLEA, through its spokesman, Femi Babafemi recently alleged that Ukatu’s drugs were imported in a single month, October 2019, with a market value of over N22 billion.
Babafeni stated this in a statement “to counter insinuations by some hirelings that NDLEA has no evidence to pin a crime on Ukatu, who is the Chairman/CEO of Mallinson Group of companies.”