70-Year-Old Woman Remanded Over Alleged 13kg Cocaine Trafficking

(Lagos Court. Photo by Daily Nigerian)

A 70-year-old woman has been ordered to stay in prison while she awaits trial on drug charges.

A Federal High Court in Lagos ordered Barek Mary Yetunde remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency accused her of attempting to tr@ffick 13 kilogrammes of cocaine.

Yetunde, who lives in Okota, allegedly tried to export the cocaine through the airport on June 28 this year.

She was caught at the departure hall of Terminal 2 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport as she was clearing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to the United Kingdom.

The agency also accused her of transporting the cocaine from her home to the airport's terminal.

The judge read the two charges to her in court on Wednesday, and she pleaded not guilty to both.

Her lawyer asked that she be released on bail, pointing to her age and health issues.

He also requested that she be held by the drug agency instead of in prison because of these concerns.

The prosecution opposed the bail request and also opposed the request to hold her in agency custody, saying the drug agency did not have proper facilities to keep her.

The judge agreed that the woman should remain in the correctional centre but said he would hear arguments about bail on September 2.

The case will resume on that date.