Suspected Drug Trafficker, Ijeoma Ojukwu Not Late Ojukwu’s Niece – Family

 The family of late Ikemba Nnewi and Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has disowned a suspected drug trafficker, Ijeoma Ojukwu, who claimed to be a niece of the deceased.

Ijeoma Ojukwu, who is a mother of two and reportedly owns a restaurant in Brazil, was nabbed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, recently at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for being in possession of 2.24kg of cocaine.

The suspect, who is believed to be a member of an international drug trafficking syndicate, was arrested alongside four others by the narcotics agency.

Others are – Ali Bala Adamu, Uche Igwelo, Egbuche Fidelis Osita and a staff of the NDLEA, Victor Umeh.

Denouncing Ijeoma Ojukwu as a member of the family, a terse statement issued by a brother to the late Biafran leader, Lotanna Ojukwu, decried attempts by the media to link the suspected drug trafficker to the family as a result of her last name.

The statement reads: “We wish to inform you that the woman arrested by NDLEA for importing cocaine into Nigeria, whose photograph has appeared in some publications, named Ijeoma Ojukwu, is not in any way related to my brother – Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

“Our family therefore demands that you stop referring to her as Ikemba’s niece. Thank you for your cooperation”.

In a swift reaction, the spokesperson for the NDLEA, Mitchel Ofoyeju, insisted that Ijeoma Ojukwu, who is still in custody, is a niece of the late Ikemba.

“She is still in our custody. They should go and find out her background. She said she is Ojukwu’s niece”, Ofoyeju added.