BREAKING: Court Discharges Pretty Mike, Says NDLEA Evidence Falls Short

By Editor Drealomalicha Emmanuella

Pretty Mike, the Lagos-based nightclub owner, and club supervisor Joachim Hillary have been discharged by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) failed to establish a prima facie case against them.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Alagoa upheld the defendants’ no-case submission, effectively bringing the drug-related prosecution to an abrupt end at the preliminary stage.

The duo had been arraigned on charges bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession of controlled substances, and allegedly permitting illicit drug activity at Proxy Lagos, a nightclub owned by Pretty Mike and located in Victoria Island.

The NDLEA had told the court that during a raid carried out on 26 October, operatives recovered 169 cylinders of nitrous oxide (commonly known as laughing gas), weighing about 384.662 kilogrammes, alongside 200 grammes of cannabis sativa. The agency alleged that the substances were intended for use at an illegal drug party and also sought the forfeiture of the nightclub, describing it as an “instrumentality of crime”.

However, defence counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present credible, admissible, and direct evidence linking his clients to the alleged offences. He maintained that the case rested largely on suspicion and inconsistent claims, which fell short of the legal threshold required to proceed to trial.

He further argued that the prosecution did not establish ownership, knowledge, or control of the alleged substances by the defendants, insisting that criminal liability could not be inferred without clear evidential linkage.

In his ruling, Justice Lewis-Alagoa agreed with the defence, holding that the evidence presented by the NDLEA did not meet the minimum standard required in law to sustain the charges. He consequently upheld the no-case submission and discharged both defendants without calling on them to enter their defence.