A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, imposing fines totalling Six Million US Dollars ($6 million) and One Million One Hundred Thousand Naira (₦1.1 million) following their arrest for importing 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
As reported by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in a press release on Wednesday, signed by Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the arrests were made at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on November 16, 2025.
The seizure prompted a four-count criminal charge in suit number FHC/L/1232C/25 at the Federal High Court 2, Lagos, filed by a team of NDLEA prosecutors led by the Agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.
The vessel and its crew—“Eugene Quinos Corpuz, Mark Joseph Jardiniano, Alexis Navidad Evarrola, Francis Gerard Niones Carpio, Franz Jude Mayran, Mahinay Junniel Lagura, Mario Ganiban Malvar, Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan, Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda, and Edwin Baltazar Reyes”—pled guilty under a plea bargain agreement.
Delivering his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Ayokunle Faji found MV Nord Bosporus guilty of offences under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
“The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of Five Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US dollars to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The three principal officers, listed as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants, were each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay $100,000 restitution.
The remaining crew members, defendants five through eleven, were each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay $50,000 restitution. The total fines and restitution now amount to $6 million and ₦1.1 million.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), described the conviction as “a resounding victory for the rule of law and a powerful testament to the renewed vigour of the NDLEA in our mission to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs.”
He added: “The imposition of a $6 million fine equally serves as a stark, expensive lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade.”
Marwa further emphasised: “Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets. We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”
He commended the Apapa Strategic Command of the NDLEA for their vigilance in uncovering the cocaine hidden within the cargo, noting that the success, following similar convictions like that of MV Chayanee Naree, “shows that our ‘back-to-back’ strategy is yielding concrete results.”
Marwa also praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services and the judiciary for their “accelerated hearing of this case,” adding that “this synergy between the NDLEA and the courts is the nightmare of every drug baron, and we shall continue to strengthen this partnership until the last drug supply chain in Nigeria is dismantled.”
The NDLEA boss concluded by reiterating the agency’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s youth and national security: “We are not just fighting a crime; we are defending the future of our youth and the security of our nation, and in doing this, our intelligence networks are getting wider, our technology sharper, and our resolve is unbreakable.”
