- The Advocates for Global Peace Forum International (AGPFI) has launched an urgent appeal for the release of 65-year-old businessman Nnamdi Okafor, who has been held in Ethiopia since March 2026 after a drug cartel hid 5.8kg of cocaine inside his logistics consignment.
- Investigations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Nigeria successfully uncovered the cartel’s operations, leading to the arrest and 10-year sentencing of the actual mastermind, Dickson Akputa Ejike, who used identical stockfish-head concealment methods.
- The civil society group raised alarms over Okafor’s rapidly failing health behind bars, noting that the elderly entrepreneur is currently battling severe health conditions including prostate cancer, diabetes, and hypertension without proper specialized care.
The Advocates for Global Peace Forum International (AGPFI) has made a passionate appeal for the immediate release of a 65-year-old Nigerian businessman, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, who has been detained in Ethiopia since March 17, 2026, over allegations of international drug trafficking.
Addressing journalists during a media briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, the Secretary-General of AGPFI, Ngozi Ani, described Okafor’s prolonged incarceration as a grave miscarriage of justice and an escalating humanitarian crisis.
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She maintained that the businessman, who serves as the Managing Director of Afroasian Medic and Miles Logistics Ventures, was an unwitting victim manipulated by a highly sophisticated drug syndicate.
Okafor was arrested at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport after Ethiopian authorities discovered 5.8 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside his luggage.
However, structural investigations later conducted by law enforcement agencies back home in Nigeria heavily support his claims of innocence.
A Lagos-based logistics staff member under Okafor’s employ, Success Iyamu, explained that she personally inspected the cargo prior to departure.
The consignment, brought in by a regular customer who frequently shipped local food items to Nigerians in India, outwardly consisted of sealed nylon bags containing pepper, dry okra, crayfish, and stockfish heads.
The break in the case occurred when Nigerian law enforcement agents intercepted a parallel shipment linked to the exact same network and arrested a primary suspect identified as Dickson Akputa Ejike.
During a meticulous search at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) headquarters, operatives cracked open a stockfish head and discovered cocaine hidden inside using the identical method of concealment tied to Okafor’s arrest.
Ejike was subsequently prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Nigerian court, strengthening the evidence that Okafor had absolutely no criminal intent or knowledge of the illicit cargo he was carrying.
AGPFI has expressed serious concern over Okafor’s rapidly deteriorating health in the Ethiopian facility, noting that the elderly businessman battles multiple severe health complications including prostate cancer, hypertension, and diabetes.
The civil society group confirmed that it has formally forwarded the investigative findings and exculpatory evidence generated in Nigeria to the NDLEA offices in Lagos and Abuja, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia, and Ethiopian judicial authorities to fast-track his release.
Meanwhile, logistics operators and courier firms have been strongly advised to escalate verification procedures and never assume the contents of third-party packages to prevent falling victim to similar international syndicates.
