LAGOS, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Nigeria’s anti-drug agency to produce social media influencer and luxury goods businessman Kazeem Michael Afolabi, popularly known as “KC Luxury,” before the court as he challenges his continued detention following his arrest in connection with an alleged international cocaine trafficking investigation. Justice Friday Ogazi also directed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to respond within five days to Afolabi’s application seeking his release or bail. The case was adjourned until Sept. 9.
The order was issued Thursday after Afolabi’s lawyer, A. Labi-Lawal, SAN, filed an ex parte application under Nigeria’s Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules. An ex parte application is an initial request made to a judge without the opposing party first being heard. Afolabi’s lawyers allege that he had been held for 14 days without a formal criminal charge and contend that the detention violates his constitutional right to personal liberty. The court ordered that the NDLEA be served with the application and other documents within four working days.
The legal position is complicated by a separate order from another judge of the same Federal High Court. Justice Akintayo Aluko on Aug. 20 authorized the NDLEA to detain Afolabi for an additional 30 days while investigators pursue the drug-trafficking inquiry. That order remains in effect, meaning the court hearing Afolabi’s fundamental-rights case will have to consider his challenge against the backdrop of an existing judicial authorization for continued detention.
Afolabi was arrested Aug. 13 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as he prepared to travel to Paris. The NDLEA says the arrest followed an investigation into 184.5 kilograms of cocaine seized through a courier logistics channel, which the agency described as its largest cocaine interception involving a courier company. NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa alleged that investigators linked Afolabi to a network moving cocaine from South America through Nigeria to the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and Asia. The allegations have not been tested in court, and Afolabi has not been convicted of any crime.
The NDLEA said officers recovered E7,750, E2,800, 100,000 naira and expensive jewelry when Afolabi was arrested and later seized vehicles and other assets during searches. Marwa said international drug networks were increasingly turning to courier and logistics businesses as authorities tightened scrutiny at airports and seaports. “There is no alternative route into or out of Nigeria for illicit drugs that this Agency cannot police,” Marwa said.
Afolabi disputes the agency’s portrayal of him. In an affidavit supporting his case, his father, Eric Afolabi, alleged that agents searched his son’s Banana Island residence without presenting a search warrant and found no narcotics or other incriminating material. The application also alleges that officers seized Afolabi’s iPhone, demanded its password and circulated photographs and videos of him in custody before any trial or conviction. He is seeking release or bail as well as damages over what he alleges were unlawful detention, invasion of privacy and publication of his images.
Nigeria’s Constitution provides protections against arbitrary detention. Section 35 says a detained person must be informed in writing of the grounds for the arrest within 24 hours and brought before a court within what the Constitution calls a “reasonable time.” In areas where a competent court is within 40 kilometers, that generally means one day, although courts may authorize longer detention in appropriate circumstances. The existence of Aluko’s 30-day order is therefore significant to the dispute over whether Afolabi’s current detention is lawful.
The case also touches on a broader international law-enforcement challenge. Nigeria has long been used as a transit point by some trafficking networks moving narcotics between Latin America, Europe and Asia. The NDLEA was established in 1989 as the federal agency responsible for combating illicit drug production, trafficking and distribution, and it maintains operations at airports, seaports, borders and other strategic locations. In the Afolabi investigation, the agency says contacts connected to the alleged network have also been arrested by authorities in Britain, underscoring the cross-border nature of the inquiry.
The competing court proceedings now place both law enforcement powers and constitutional protections under scrutiny. The NDLEA maintains that additional detention is necessary to investigate what it describes as a major international cocaine network, while Afolabi’s lawyers argue that continued custody without a criminal charge violates his fundamental rights. Justice Ogazi is expected to consider those competing claims when the case returns to court Sept. 9
