A vessel and 11 Filipino nationals have been convicted and sentenced by Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos to various penalties following a plea bargain agreement reached with the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN.
The trial judge gave the verdict to the defendants after their guilty plea to an amended charges pursuant to the agreement.
Due to the plea bargain, Justice Faji imposed a fine of N100,000 on the vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, and ordered it to pay $5.350 million as restitution to the FGN.
The court also directed the vessel’s principal officers, her Captain and other senior crew members, to each pay a fine of N100,000 and $100,000 in restitution.
The remaining crew members were ordered to pay a fine of N100,000 each and $50,000 as restitution to the FGN.
The conviction was on the heels of the earlier arraignment of the vessel and its Filipino crew members by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on charges of conspiracy and unlawful importation of 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
The defendants; Eugene Quinos Corpuz, Mark Joseph Jardiniano, Alexis Navidad Evarrola, Francis Gerard Niones Carpio, Franz Jude Mayran, and Mahinay Junniel Lagura.
Others are, Mario Ganiban Malvar, Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan, Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda, and Edwin Baltazar Reyes.
They were arraigned before Justice Faji on a charge marked FHC/L/1232C/2025.
The prosecution, led by Barrister Theresa Asuquo, informed the court that the defendants and the vessel were arrested on November 16, 2025, at a Terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos.
According to the prosecution, the crew members conspired among themselves to unlawfully import 20 kilograms of cocaine aboard the vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, from Santos, Brazil, into Nigeria.
The offences were said to be contrary to Sections 11(b) and 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Although the defendants initially pleaded not guilty, the prosecution later informed the court that parties had entered into a plea bargain agreement pursuant to Section 270(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Counsel to the defendants, Femi Atoyebi (SAN), confirmed the agreement and urged the court to adopt its terms.
Subsequently, Justice Faji adopted the plea bargain and delivered judgement in accordance with its provisions.
