NDLEA Challenges Court Ruling Clearing Pretty Mike Of Drug Charges
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos which discharged and acquitted Lagos socialite and nightclub owner Mike Nwalie, popularly known as Pretty Mike, of alleged drug-related offences.
The anti-narcotics agency is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling delivered by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on April 15, 2026, arguing that the trial court failed to properly evaluate the evidence presented during the trial.
Pretty Mike and Proxy Lagos Night Club supervisor Joachim Hillary were arraigned by the NDLEA in November 2025 on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession of hard drugs and knowingly allowing the nightclub premises to be used for drug-related activities.
The charges followed an NDLEA raid on Proxy Lagos Night Club on Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, where operatives allegedly recovered 200 grams of Cannabis Sativa and 177 cylinders of Nitrous Oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing about 364.662 kilograms.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted bail before the prosecution called several witnesses and tendered documentary evidence during the trial.
After the prosecution closed its case, defence counsel filed a no-case submission, arguing that the evidence presented by the NDLEA was insufficient to require the defendants to open their defence.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa upheld the application, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants and that the evidence amounted to mere suspicion rather than proof capable of sustaining a criminal trial.
The judge subsequently discharged and acquitted Pretty Mike and his co-defendant of all the charges.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the NDLEA, through its counsel Buhari Abdullahi, filed a notice of appeal, contending that the ruling resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
The agency argued that the evidence presented before the trial court was sufficient to establish the essential ingredients of unlawful possession of narcotic substances and permitting premises to be used for drug-related activities under the NDLEA Act.
According to the appeal, the trial judge failed to properly assess the testimony of prosecution witnesses and documentary exhibits before concluding that there was no case for the defendants to answer.
The NDLEA further maintained that witnesses presented during the trial linked the defendants to the alleged offences and insisted that the court erred in holding that no drugs were recovered from the defendants.
The agency is therefore urging the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court and order that both defendants be called upon to enter their defence as the case continues.