AFREEQUE
URGENT
Football
🇳🇬 NigeriaPolitics

Methamphetamine laboratory dismantled in Tapa, six men tried in Ibadan

By , based on Vanguard

Methamphetamine laboratory dismantled in Tapa, six men tried in IbadanIllustrative image · MART PRODUCTION · Pexels · Licence Pexels

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday brought two Mexicans and four Nigerians before the Federal High Court in Ibadan over a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory discovered in Tapa, Oyo State. The six men are charged with conspiracy, drug trafficking and illegal production of methamphetamine, according to an NDLEA statement.

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has brought two Mexicans and four Nigerians to court over their alleged involvement in setting up and operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa, a village in Ibarapa North local government area, Oyo State. The six defendants appeared before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court of Lagos, sitting in Ibadan, on four counts of conspiracy, drug trafficking and illegal production of methamphetamine, according to a statement from the NDLEA's director of media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi, published on Friday.

They are Jose Villa Ochoa, a 56-year-old Mexican, Carrera Loaiza Arturo, a 40-year-old Mexican, and four Nigerians: Maxwell Uche Nevoh (30), Olatunji Yusuf (37), Bankole Akeem Owolabi (45) and Ganiu Monsiu (43). Ochoa and the four Nigerians were arrested on 17 June 2026 in a forested area of Tapa, while Arturo was arrested on 19 August 2026 at Lagos airport as he was trying, according to the agency, to flee the country.

The charges accuse the defendants of having conspired within a drug trafficking organisation and of having set up a clandestine methamphetamine production laboratory between December 2025 and June 2026 at several locations in Lagos and Oyo State, as well as of having transported and illegally distributed chemical substances intended for the manufacture of the drug. All pleaded not guilty, and Justice Maha ordered their detention at the Ibadan correctional centre, adjourning the trial to 26, 27, 28 and 29 January 2027.

Femi Babafemi also said that three other Mexicans and seven Nigerians, arrested on 16 May 2026 in a forest hideout in Ogun State in a similar case, had been remanded in custody after appearing before the Federal High Court of Lagos, which rejected their bail application and ordered an accelerated trial.

Share this article

Related stories

Residents protest over fictitious polling stations in Nigeria

More than 100 Warri South residents demonstrated outside the Nigerian electoral commission’s offices in Asaba, denouncing names, wards and polling stations they said were fictitious in the electoral register. The protesters are calling for these entries to be corrected before the next general elections, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

🇳🇬 Nigeria · Source: P.M. News ·

A Nigerian court invalidates Atiku's candidacy for 2027

The Federal High Court in Abuja annulled the interim leadership of the African Democratic Congress led by David Mark and invalidated all acts taken in its name, including the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as candidate for the 2027 presidential election, according to Vanguard. Judge Peter Lifu's judgment also annuls the nominations of the ADC's other candidates.

🇳🇬 Nigeria · Source: Vanguard ·

Two men remanded in custody in Guédiawaye

C. T. Sonko, 27, and M. Fall, 22, were remanded in custody on charges of criminal conspiracy and acts against nature following an altercation in Sam-Notaire, Guédiawaye. The two men are due to appear before the Pikine-Guédiawaye flagrante delicto court on Monday, according to the police investigation reported by SeneNews.

🇸🇳 Senegal · Source: SeneNews ·

Tundu Lissu: family contests the nature of the trial

The family of Tundu Lissu, leader of the opposition party CHADEMA, contested the political nature of his treason trial as he appeared before the High Court in Dar es Salaam. Police had sealed off the area before the verdict, with a heavy security deployment, according to Dakaractu and RFI.

🇹🇿 Tanzania · Source: Dakaractu ·

🇳🇬 Latest from Nigeria

Le Nigeria signe un accord de 500 millions de dollars avec la Banque mondiale pour l'énergieLe Nigeria signe un accord de 500 millions de dollars avec la Banque mondiale pour l'énergieLe Nigeria et la Banque mondiale ont signé un accord de 500 millions de dollars pour soutenir la réforme du secteur énergétique. Le financement, annoncé à Abuja, doit aider à stabiliser le réseau électrique et à améliorer l'accès à l'électricité pour des millions de Nigérians, selon le ministère des Finances.All Nigeria news →

Politics in West Africa

Burkina Faso and Mali announce forthcoming Grand Joint Commission on CooperationBurkina Faso and Mali announce forthcoming Grand Joint Commission on CooperationOn an official visit to Ouagadougou on 5 November 2026, Malian President Assimi Goïta and his Burkinabè counterpart Ibrahim Traoré reaffirmed their commitment to consolidating bilateral and security cooperation within the AES, and announced the forthcoming holding of the Burkina-Mali Grand Joint Commission on Cooperation.All Politics news →

The week in Africa

This week’s highlights

  1. Paul Mackenzie sentenced to 200 years for 191 murders🇰🇪 Kenya
  2. Ebola in DR Congo: Tshopo provincial assembly suspends work for 21 days🇨🇩 DR Congo
  3. Tundu Lissu sentenced to four years in prison in Tanzania🇹🇿 Tanzania
  4. Judge suspends construction of Trump's arch in Washington for 14 days🇺🇸 United States
  5. Democrats win US midterm elections🇺🇸 United States
All of this week’s highlights →

Africa in your inbox

Be the first to get our letter in English: the essentials from every region of the continent, free.

← Back to the news