High Priest Nnodu Azuka Kenrick, who started and runs the Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly in Lagos, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
According to Emmanuel College of Theology student Udezuka Udoka and freight agent Oyoyo Mary Obasi, both of whom were detained, according to the agency’s spokeswoman Femi Babafemi on Sunday.
The suspects tried to send drugs from Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos to Dubai through the NAHCO export facility.
After Obasi and Udoka were taken into custody, Nnodu was arrested on February 11 at his church, which is located at No. 1 Sabbath Close in Ijesha, Lagos.
In four 25-liter kegs of palm oil bound for the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, the NDLEA discovered 283 parcels of skunk weighing 14.90 kilogrammes and 204 grammes of meth.
Obasi named the people who provided her the consignments as being the GO of her new church and his son, Chisom Obi, who is currently at large.
She admitted that as Priest Nnodu prayed for the success of the deal, she was forced to provide a chicken sacrifice and swear an oath of secrecy.
When the clergyman and his son realised she knew their secrets, Obasi claimed they used threats to pressure her into accepting the position.
In their phone conversations, the suspect said Nnodu frequently used the slang names for meth and cannabis, Ice and Bible.
Udezuka admitted in his confession that he was paid N2 million for the role and was compelled to do it because he needed the money for his schooling.
On February 7, Nnamani Monday Innocent, a Dubai returnee, was caught trying to transfer a shipment of skunk and tramadol 225 mg to the UAE.
When Innocent and his companion, Nwanana Emmanuel Ikechukwu, went to the Trade Fair complex in the Ojo neighbourhood to handle the consignment for export, they were both detained.
A shipment bound for London, United Kingdom, was also halted by NDLEA agents working out of the Lagos airport’s SAHCO export facility.
Food items packaged in a container were used to conceal 1.10 kilos of meth. The freight broker, Agholor Emmanuel, who submitted the shipment for export, is being held.
