Court Discharges Pretty Mike in Drug Case Due to Insufficient Evidence

On Wednesday, the Federal High Court in Ikoyi discharged nightclub owner Pretty Mike and his supervisor Joachim Hillari in a drug case. Judge Ambrose Lewis Alagoa ruled that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) failed to prove its case against the defendants.

The NDLEA had charged Pretty Mike and Hillari with conspiracy and unlawful possession of hard drugs, following a raid on October 26, during which 169 cylinders of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) weighing 384.662 kilograms and 200 grams of cannabis sativa were recovered. The agency sought the forfeiture of the nightclub as an instrument of crime.

However, defense counsel Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution did not present credible evidence linking the defendants to the alleged offenses. Judge Alagoa agreed, stating that the prosecution's evidence did not meet the minimum standard required to sustain the charges, resulting in the discharge of Pretty Mike and Hillari without entering a defense.