NDLEA’s Media Trial Of Valentine Ilumuanya … . A Case Of Conviction In “Public Court”

Media trial by security agencies in Nigeria has being a source of concern for many decades with legal experts including the Bench and human rights society persistently criticizing the act as despicable and flagrant violation of citizens rights.

The act of media trial among security agent in Nigeria includes all forms of premature parade of suspects in front of journalists camera, declaration of suspects wanted without proper and valid order of court, misinformation and bias by disseminating inaccurate details to the public regarding an individual’s or high-profile cases, which can harm reputations and fair treatment of the victim.

In most cases security agencies often use pre-trial media trial like public parade, issuance of press releases to demonstrate that they are working even when cases lack robust, admissible evidence.

This tactic is also used to create an impression of guilt, which can prejudice the minds of the public and potential jurors.

On the negative impact of media trial experts have argued that it can create a hostile environment for the suspect or the accused, potentially influencing judges and undermining the fairness of the judicial process.

It is also the conjecture of human rights activists that when media-charged cases fall apart in court, the consequence is that it can lead to public distrust among the public, the security agencies and the judiciary.

Lawyers also kick against the act as they claimed it undermine the rule of law and contradict the constitutional provision of the presumption of innocence guaranteed by the constitution.

It is in the light of this experts are of the firm belief that security agencies must focus on evidence gathering rather than public relations exercises to ensure justice is served. Although, it seem the Police had in recent years improved on this due to persisted criticisms.

However, of concern is the violation of right through media trial by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who daily continued to violate suspects’ constitutional right through act of unauthorized media trial.

The NDLEA continued to publish pictures and particulars of suspects and Sharing details of their investigation even before suspects are taking to court with impunity as if suspects have been tried and found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

A particular incident of recent, is the sudden and embarrassing declaration of a defendant who have been under trial by the anti-narcotic agency since 2018 till date, Mr. Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya as a wanted fugitive who was arrested by NDLEA after 15 years of manhunt.

According to a recent press statement issued and signed by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the agency said it arrested a 58-year-man, Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, who they. claimed has been on the wanted list of the agency and British authorities for over 15 years.

In the press statement, Babafemi said Ilomuanya was apprehended at a location in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, following a high-stakes, well-coordinated operation by officers of a Special Operations Unit of the Agency.

According to the statement, ?his arrest ends what the agency described as a “long-standing cat-and-mouse game with the law”.

In the statement, NDLEA claimed that Ilomuanya was subsequently arrested in the UK in July 2011 for drug-related offences, was granted administrative bail, but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria.

The statement reads, “?typical of a recidivist, Ilomuanya was arrested on November 2018 in Nigeria by NDLEA operatives.

“He was subsequently charged before a Federal High Court, Lagos, after which he jumped court bail and has been on the run since then.”

Reacting to the successful operation leading to Ilomuanya’s arrest, the Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) described the development as a significant breakthrough in the Agency’s relentless war against drug cartels.

?He commended the officers of the Special Operations Unit for their professionalism, resilience, and diligence in tracking down the fugitive, stressing that the Agency remains unwavering in its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks operating within Nigeria.

However, what is shocking and embarrassing in the whole story is that the agency push out to the general public as information is half -truth is falsehood.

In the first place the NDLEA has been prosecuting Ilumuanya since 2021 at the Federal High court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on drug related charges and NDLEA prosecutors have been prosecuting the case which has passed through twoJudges, Justice. A.O Awogboro and later Justice Musa Kakaki who is currently handling the matter.

It is also surprising that the NDLEA in it’s press release refused to state the fact that that the agency operatives has given evidence during trial .

A glance at the record of proceeding before Justice Awogboro and Justice Kakaki confirmed that Ilumuanya has appeared on 18 (eighteen) times that the matter came up before the two judge with the case prosecuted by NDLEA lawyers.

To make matter worse, the anti-narcotic agency claimed it arrested Ilumuanya at a location which they did not mention after 15 years of painstaking manhunt, but the truth is that he was arrested in a commando style within the court Premises, after the proceedings of February 23, 2026 and whisked away to their office.

The question then is if officials of the agency are the one prosecuting Ilumuanya since 2021 and he had been appearing in court on more than 18 occasions that the matter came up in court, where is the manhunt, or how did he become a fugitive?

The consequences of half-truth media trial is that it amounted to violation of presumption of innocence guaranteed under section 36 (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria.

The practice of media trial can also result in “Public Court” verdicts who is inimical to the right of suspect or defendants and are very difficult to reverse even when the court of law finds the defendant innocent.