A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has discharged socialite and nightclub owner, Mike Nwalie, popularly known as Pretty Mike, alongside his club supervisor, Joachim Hillary, after upholding their no-case submission in a drug-related suit instituted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the defendants.
“The evidence placed before the court does not disclose a prima facie case requiring the defendants to enter their defence,” the judge held, noting further that the material presented by the prosecution, “at its highest, raises mere suspicion, which cannot ground a criminal conviction.”
Pretty Mike, who owns the Proxy Lagos nightclub located in Victoria Island, and Hillary had earlier been arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession of prohibited substances, and allegedly permitting the use of the premises for illicit drug activities.
The NDLEA had informed the court that its operatives conducted a raid on the nightclub on October 26, during which they allegedly recovered 169 cylinders of nitrous oxide, commonly referred to as laughing gas, weighing 384.662 kilograms, as well as 200 grams of cannabis.
According to the agency, the substances were intended for use at an illegal drug-related gathering, and it sought to prove that the defendants were aware of and exercised control over the items recovered on the premises.
The prosecution also urged the court to order the forfeiture of the nightclub, describing it as an instrument used in the commission of a crime.
However, counsel to the defendants, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, argued that the prosecution failed to establish any direct link between his clients and the alleged offences.
“The prosecution has not led any credible evidence establishing ownership, possession, or knowledge of the alleged substances by the defendants.
“Mere suspicion, however strong, cannot take the place of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ojukwu submitted.
He further contended that the evidence presented was inconsistent and legally insufficient to warrant the defendants being called upon to open their defence.
In his ruling, Justice Lewis-Allagoa agreed with the defence, holding that the case did not meet the required legal threshold.
“I find that the prosecution has not made out a prima facie case against the defendants,” the judge ruled.
“To require them to enter their defence would amount to speculation rather than judicial reasoning,” he added.
