NDLEA arrests Sunny Ade’s ex-guitarist with cocaine

Source: Punch Newspaper

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a popular guitarist, Abiodun Fatoke, with 1.6kg of cocaine.

Fatoke, 62, who reportedly played the guitar for music star, King Sunny Ade, for three decades, was caught on January 1, 2013 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy.

According to the NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, operatives of the agency detected two parcels of cocaine that were industrially hidden in the false bottom of the suspect’s luggage.

The Head, Public Affair, Mitchell Ofoyeju, told SUNDAY PUNCH that Fatoke owned up to the crime and blamed it on financial hardship.

Fatoke reportedly said, “After my primary education, I only did one year in the secondary school before I went into music. I can play any kind of guitar but my music career is a sad story. I played for King Sunny Ade for 30 years before I was unceremoniously retired in 2007. I was unprepared and without a severance pay, I saw the bitter side of life. This is my first time of getting involved in drug trafficking. I did it out of frustration because at my age I could not provide for my family. I am ashamed of myself.”

According to Fatoke, he got a phone call from a friend, inviting him to Lagos, where he was given N50,000 and was promised more money after the trip.

He said, “I live in Ibadan with my family. I was invited to Lagos where I was given N50,000 and they promised that arrangements would be made for me to travel soon. They promised to pay me N1m.

“If not for my condition, I would have turned down the offer but it was my last hope to free myself from financial difficulty. I was given the bag and my ticket but NDLEA operatives detected the drug. Since then, I have been in deep pain. I feel bad because I have no one to help me.”

Ofoyeju said the suspect would be charged to court for unlawful exportation and possession of narcotics. If convicted, he could spend the next 25 years in prison.