RismadarVoice Reporters
January 15, 2026
The Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed an application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seeking to halt the unsealing of Proxy Night Club, Victoria Island, and ordered that contempt proceedings be served on the Chairman of the agency by substituted means.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa delivered the ruling on Wednesday, refusing the NDLEA’s motion for a stay of execution of the court’s December 5, 2025, order directing that the nightclub be reopened pending the determination of an appeal.
NDLEA filed the application on December 10, 2025, supported by a 13-paragraph affidavit and notices of appeal.
The defendants opposed the motion with a counter-affidavit, urging the court to dismiss it.
In his ruling, Justice Lewis-Allagoa said the law requires an applicant seeking a stay of execution to demonstrate special and exceptional circumstances, a threshold the NDLEA failed to meet.
The judge noted that while the agency sought to stay the December 5 ruling, it failed to apply for a stay of the earlier November 28, 2025, decision upon which the subsequent order was founded.
He described the omission as a “crucial lapse” that was fatal to the application.
The court further held that the motion was tainted by abuse of court process and forum shopping, which, according to the judge, had been admitted by the prosecution during proceedings on November 28, 2025, as reflected in the court’s record.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa also found that a review of the notices of appeal did not disclose any substantial grounds capable of justifying a stay of execution.
He added that although the appeal was marked as a fast-track matter, the prosecution had been indolent in ensuring the timely compilation of records.
“In the final analysis,” the judge held, “the motion seeking a stay of execution of the ruling of 5th December 2025 is accentuated in bad faith, bereft of merit and lacking in substance,” before dismissing the application.
The case arose from a midnight raid carried out by the NDLEA on October 26, 2025, at Proxy Night Club, during which Lagos socialite Mike Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike, and over 100 guests were arrested over alleged drug-related activities.
The defendants were subsequently arraigned on drug-related charges, which they denied, and were granted bail on November 7, 2025.
Following the raid, the NDLEA had filed a motion ex parte on November 28, 2025, seeking the interim forfeiture of the nightclub on the grounds that it was allegedly used as an instrumentality of drug trafficking.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa dismissed the application, citing the constitutional presumption of innocence under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, and later ordered the unsealing of the property.
In a related development on Wednesday, the court granted an order of substituted service directing that Form 48, the notice of consequences of disobedience of court order, be served on the Chairman of the NDLEA.
The judge also admonished the NDLEA Chairman to comply fully and promptly with the subsisting court orders concerning the unsealing of Proxy Night Club.
The matter was adjourned to February 9 and 10, 2026, for continuation of trial.
