Members of the Enugu State on Tuesday met with the State Commandant of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, A.R. Apeh, over a report in a national daily (not The PUNCH), linking six of its members to the seizure of N4bn worth of cocaine at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa.
The report had stated that the Tin Can Island Police Command claimed that six Enugu lawmakers were linked to the importation of over 450kg of the illicit substance.
Apeh, who was accompanied to the assembly complex by another top official of the NDLEA, met with the 24 lawmakers in a closed door session.
At the end of the one-hour meeting, the Speaker, Mr. Eugene Odo, told journalists that the lawmakers would investigate the matter.
The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr. Marcel Njeze, who later addressed a press conference, asked the newspaper which reported the story to furnish the assembly with the names of members linked to the drug scandal or face legal action.
“We have contacted the director and another member of the drug agency in Enugu and they told us that no such file was transferred to them. They even stated that no arrest had been made over the issue
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication linking six members of the house of assembly to an illicit drug importation amounting to N4bn.”
“Fortunately, today is our day of sitting. And fortunately also, the 24 members of the state house of assembly were present. So, we decided to enquire from every member if there was anyway in which any of them was involved in the matter.
“The answer we got was that no member of the Enugu State House of Assembly had anything to do with the importation of cocaine or contraband goods into this country.”
He did not, however, allow journalists access to the NDLEA officials.
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