A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, over the importation of 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution totalling $6 million and ₦1.1 million.
The conviction followed their arrest at the Apapa seaport on November 16, 2025, in an operation carried out by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The case, filed under suit number FHC/L/1232C/25, was prosecuted by a team led by the agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.
The ship and its crew—“Eugene Quinos Corpuz, Mark Joseph Jardiniano, Alexis Navidad Evarrola, Francis Gerard Niones Carpio, Franz Jude Mayran, Mahinay Junniel Lagura, Mario Ganiban Malvar, Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan, Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda, and Edwin Baltazar Reyes”—entered guilty pleas under a plea bargain arrangement.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ayokunle Faji found the vessel culpable under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of Five Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US dollars to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The court further imposed penalties on individual crew members, with the three principal officers—listed as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants—each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution, while the remaining crew members (defendants five through eleven) were each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay $50,000.
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Reacting to the ruling, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the outcome as a significant milestone in the fight against drug trafficking.
He said the conviction was “a resounding victory for the rule of law and a powerful testament to the renewed vigour of the NDLEA in our mission to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs.”
He added: “The imposition of a $6 million fine equally serves as a stark, expensive lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade.”
Marwa further emphasised: “Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets. We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”
He commended the NDLEA’s Apapa Strategic Command for uncovering the concealed cocaine, noting that the success—coming after similar convictions such as that involving MV Chayanee Naree—“shows that our ‘back-to-back’ strategy is yielding concrete results.”
Marwa also lauded the agency’s Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services and the judiciary for their swift handling of the case, describing their collaboration as a major deterrent to drug traffickers.
He said the “accelerated hearing of this case” demonstrates that “this synergy between the NDLEA and the courts is the nightmare of every drug baron, and we shall continue to strengthen this partnership until the last drug supply chain in Nigeria is dismantled.”
Reaffirming the agency’s resolve, Marwa stated: “We are not just fighting a crime; we are defending the future of our youth and the security of our nation, and in doing this, our intelligence networks are getting wider, our technology sharper, and our resolve is unbreakable.”