Drug Charges: Court Discharges Nightclub Owner, Pretty Mike, Cites Lack of Evidence

Wale Igbintade

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Alagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday discharged socialite and nightclub owner, Mike Nwalie, popularly known as Pretty Mike, alongside the club’s supervisor, Joachim Hillary, after upholding their no-case submission.

The ruling brings to an end the drug-related prosecution instituted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), with the court holding that the evidence presented failed to establish a prima facie case requiring the defendants to open their defence.

Pretty Mike, owner of Proxy Lagos nightclub in Victoria Island, and Hillary were arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession of hard drugs, and knowingly permitting the use of the club premises for illicit drug activities.

The charges followed an NDLEA raid on the nightclub on October 26, during which the agency claimed it recovered 169 cylinders of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, weighing 384.662 kilograms, as well as 200 grams of cannabis sativa.

The prosecution alleged that the substances were intended for use at an illegal drug party and sought to link the defendants to their possession and storage.

It also described the nightclub as an instrumentality of crime and urged the court to order its forfeiture.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, defence counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution failed to provide credible and admissible evidence directly linking the defendants to the alleged offences.

He maintained that the evidence presented was weak, inconsistent, and legally insufficient to warrant calling on the defendants to enter a defence, stressing that mere suspicion or unsubstantiated circumstantial claims cannot sustain a criminal charge.

The defence further argued that the prosecution failed to establish ownership, control, or knowledge of the alleged substances by the defendants, thereby falling short of the legal threshold required to prove criminal liability.

Ruling on the application, Justice Lewis-Alagoa agreed with the defence, holding that the prosecution’s case did not meet the minimum evidentiary standard required to sustain the charges.

The court found that the allegations, at best, amounted to mere suspicion and lacked the cogent and compelling evidence needed to link the defendants to the alleged drug activities.

Consequently, the judge upheld the no-case submission and discharged both defendants without calling on them to open their defence, effectively terminating the proceedings at the preliminary stage.