(Court. Photo by Punch News)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has requested permission to demolish a covert methamphetamine laboratory that was found in a remote forested area of Ogun State.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has scheduled Friday, July 24, as the date for the ruling.
Following a special court meeting on Wednesday at the location, which is in Mowe village in the state’s Ijebu East Local Government Area, Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the date.
On July 10, the NDLEA had arraigned three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians on an 11-count charge connected to the alleged setting up and running of the covert lab.
The agency said its operatives found equipment and chemicals allegedly used to manufacture over 2,419 kilogrammes of meth@mphetamine, valued at more than ₦480 billion on the street.
The accused face allegations of producing and possessing large quantities of the substance, a psychotropic drug in the same category as cocaine, heroin and LSD.
Prosecutors further alleged that the defendants ran and funded a tr@fficking network responsible for moving precursor chemicals from Lagos to the hidden facility, including toluene, phenyl-2-propanone, phenylacetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid.
The NDLEA also claims the group unlawfully held 358 kilogrammes of toluene, 1,834 kilogrammes of hydrochloric acid and 22.5 kilogrammes of acetone, all allegedly meant for drug production. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
They are additionally accused of using vehicles among them a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes-Benz bearing registration APP 942 YL, and a Toyota Highlander marked GWA 662 DJ to move the substances.
According to a television programme, Wednesday’s proceedings saw the prosecution call its first witness, clandestine laboratory expert Ajilema Anebi.
He told the court that materials recovered from the lab, where the second through eighth defendants were arrested, had been used to produce and store large volumes of meth@mphetamine allegedly intended for shipment abroad, with the substances confirmed through scientific testing carried out by his team.
He also walked the court through how alcohol and hydrochloric acid factor into the meth@mphetamine production process, including the generation of benzene.
Anebi presented exhibits tied to the equipment and chemicals seized from the facility, in addition to an inventory of items already admitted as evidence earlier in proceedings.
NDLEA prosecuting counsel Adekunle Adebanjo also flagged the agency’s outstanding request seeking court approval to destroy the facility.
Defence counsel, led by Benson Ndakara, pushed back on parts of the prosecution’s evidence and raised objections to some exhibits submitted to the court.
After both sides made their submissions, Justice Kakaki adjourned proceedings until July 24, when he will rule on the NDLEA’s application.
That ruling will decide whether the agency can go ahead with destroying the lab, which it has described as a major production hub for meth@mphetamine allegedly bound for markets beyond Nigeria’s borders.
An online news platform had earlier reported that the laboratory was concealed within Abidagba Forest in Ijebu East council area of Ogun State and was allegedly run by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation.
NDLEA chairman Buba Marwa said the facility was uncovered through coordinated intelligence-driven operations spanning Lagos and Ogun states in May 2026.
This is not an isolated case. In June, in the South-West state of Oyo, the NDLEA busted another multi-billion-naira clandestine meth@mphetamine lab, arresting five suspects including a Mexican national allegedly brought in to provide technical expertise for the operation.
