By: Ayishat Badmus
A 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
PUNCH Metro learnt this from a statement issued by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Thursday.
According to Babafemi, Ann was arrested by the NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg were found in her luggage.
The agency said Ann allegedly concealed the drugs in her luggage and used her three-year-old son as a cover to evade thorough security checks.
She was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja on July 6, 2026.
The NDLEA said Ann initially denied travelling with check-in luggage but later admitted ownership of two bags containing the drugs after officers established that the tags on the bags matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
Babafemi said Ann claimed she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja, adding that intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that she was allegedly a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African axis with her husband, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
He said De Jager was also arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
Ann was subsequently arraigned in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 on two counts bordering on the importation of 5.75kg of heroin and conspiracy to import the same quantity into Nigeria.
The NDLEA said she pleaded guilty to both counts before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Egwuatu sentenced Ann to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second, bringing the total sentence to 40 years.
The judge, however, ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Reacting to the judgment, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a demonstration of the judiciary’s support for the agency’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.
Marwa said, “Nigeria will not serve as a soft landing for international drug cartels.”
He added that the conviction reinforced the agency’s resolve to ensure that anyone caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigeria, regardless of nationality, faced the full weight of the law.
Marwa also said the arrest of Ann’s husband in South Africa demonstrated the importance of intelligence-sharing and collaboration between the NDLEA and its international partners.
He assured that the agency would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international collaboration to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks.
