Chaos and grief engulfed the Federal High Court in Benin City on Tuesday when a 52-year-old woman, identified as Mrs. Titilayo Akindele, collapsed and died inside the courtroom moments after her case was called — raising serious allegations of negligence, unlawful detention, and denial of medical care against the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Mrs. Akindele, a resident of Ewosa Street in the Ogida Quarters area of Benin City, had reportedly been held in NDLEA custody for nearly three months since her arrest in January 2026 by the Edo State Task Force on suspicion of selling a controlled substance known as “Loud.” She was transferred to NDLEA custody but was never formally charged until Tuesday, March 31.
Eyewitnesses said the deceased appeared critically ill when she was brought to court and was visibly unable to sit or stand unaided. Despite her deteriorating condition, proceedings commenced. When her case was called, she did not respond — and within moments, she slumped and was confirmed dead.
“Even when her matter was called and she did not respond, the NDLEA officer was still saying the woman was pretending,” one witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told journalists. “By the time the NDLEA officer made effort to lift her up, she was already cold, completely dead. The woman’s son went berserk when he discovered that his mother was dead.”
The incident triggered an immediate uproar in the courtroom, with lawyers and observers questioning why the woman had been detained for three months without arraignment and allegedly denied adequate medical attention. The court subsequently adjourned all remaining cases for the day in honour of the deceased, and her body was moved to a mortuary.
The Edo State Commander of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, rejected allegations of negligence, insisting his men were not responsible for her death. “It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned and there was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself,” Ofoyeju said. He added that when she collapsed, officers were focused on securing other suspects to prevent them from escaping amid the ensuing crowd.
However, legal practitioners and civil society groups have dismissed the NDLEA’s account. In a strongly-worded press statement signed by Tope Temokun, Esq., dated April 1, 2026, a human rights lawyer described the incident as “a serious indictment of a system that is increasingly normalizing unlawful detention, disregard for human dignity and promoting impunity.”
Temokun also drew attention to a parallel case in Ondo State, where Mrs. Dupe Ekujumi was arrested on December 10, 2025, and held for months without charge or administrative bail. She was only arraigned on March 2, 2026 — after a Fundamental Rights Enforcement action was filed before the Federal High Court in Akure on health grounds.
“A system where detainees must deteriorate physically before being brought to court is a system in crisis,” Temokun stated, calling on NDLEA Chairman Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) to order a full investigation, sanction responsible officers, and issue nationwide directives prohibiting detention beyond constitutional limits.
Sections 35 and 36 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantee every citizen the right to personal liberty and prompt arraignment before a competent court within a reasonable time.
As of press time, the NDLEA had not released an official statement. Efforts to reach the agency’s national spokesman, Femi Babafemi, were unsuccessful as his phone line was reportedly unavailable.
