Federal High Court to decide fate of clandestine drug laboratory allegedly operated by three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians in a remote Ogun forest.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 24, 2026, to rule on an application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seeking permission to destroy a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in a remote forest in Ogun State.
Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the date after a special court sitting held on Wednesday at the laboratory facility in Mowe village, Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state.
The NDLEA had on July 10 arraigned three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians on an 11-count charge bordering on the alleged establishment and operation of the illicit drug laboratory.
According to the agency, operatives discovered equipment and chemicals allegedly used to produce 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at over ₦480 billion on the illicit market.
The defendants are accused of manufacturing and possessing large quantities of methamphetamine, as well as managing and financing a drug trafficking network that transported precursor chemicals from Lagos to the remote facility.
The NDLEA said chemicals recovered from the laboratory included toluene, phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid, which were allegedly conveyed in several vehicles to the site.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution called its first witness, clandestine laboratory expert, Mr Ajilema Anebi, who told the court that scientific analysis confirmed that the recovered substances were used in the production and storage of methamphetamine allegedly intended for export.
He also explained the role of the chemicals in the drug manufacturing process and tendered exhibits relating to the equipment and substances recovered from the facility.
While NDLEA prosecuting counsel, Adekunle Adebanjo, urged the court to grant the agency leave to destroy the multi-million-dollar laboratory, defence counsel opposed aspects of the prosecution’s evidence and objected to some of the exhibits tendered before the court.
All 10 defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Kakaki subsequently adjourned the matter to July 24 for a ruling on the NDLEA’s application, which will determine the immediate fate of the facility described by the anti-narcotics agency as a major hub for the production of methamphetamine allegedly destined for markets outside Nigeria.