The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 24 to rule on an application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seeking permission to destroy a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in a remote forest in Ogun State.
Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the date after conducting a special court sitting on Wednesday at the laboratory located in Mowe village, Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state.
The application follows the arraignment of three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians on July 10, 2026, on an 11-count charge bordering on the alleged establishment and operation of the illicit drug laboratory.
According to the NDLEA, operatives discovered the facility with equipment and chemicals allegedly used to manufacture 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value exceeding ₦480 billion.
The agency alleged that the defendants operated and managed the laboratory, where large quantities of methamphetamine were manufactured and stored for export.
They are also accused of financing a drug trafficking network responsible for transporting precursor chemicals from Lagos to the remote facility.
The chemicals allegedly recovered from the laboratory include toluene, phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid.
According to the prosecution, the substances were transported in vehicles, including a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes-Benz with registration number APP 942 YL, and a Toyota Highlander marked GWA 662 DJ.
The defendants were further accused of unlawfully possessing 358 kilograms of toluene, 1,834 kilograms of hydrochloric acid and 22.5 kilograms of acetone, allegedly intended for the production of methamphetamine.
All 10 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution called its first witness, Ajilema Anebi, a clandestine laboratory expert with the NDLEA.
Anebi testified that scientific analysis conducted by him and his team confirmed that the chemicals and equipment recovered from the laboratory, where the second to eighth defendants were arrested, were used in the production and storage of methamphetamine.
He also explained the role of alcohol, hydrochloric acid and other precursor chemicals in the methamphetamine manufacturing process.
The witness tendered several exhibits relating to the equipment and chemicals recovered from the facility, while the inventory of items seized had earlier been admitted in evidence by the court.
During the proceedings, NDLEA prosecuting counsel, Adekunle Adebanjo, urged the court to grant the agency’s pending application seeking leave to destroy the clandestine laboratory.
However, defence counsel, led by Benson Ndakara, opposed aspects of the prosecution’s evidence and raised objections to some of the exhibits tendered before the court.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice Kakaki adjourned the matter until July 24 for a ruling on the NDLEA’s application to demolish the clandestine methamphetamine laboratory.
The court’s decision is expected to determine the immediate fate of the facility, which the NDLEA described as a major methamphetamine production hub allegedly supplying illicit drug markets outside Nigeria.
