A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to produce social media influencer and businessman, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, before the court following a legal challenge to his continued detention.
Justice Friday Ogazi issued the order after hearing an ex-parte application filed by Afolabi through his counsel, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal, SAN, under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.
The court also directed the NDLEA to respond within five days to the application challenging Afolabi’s detention and explain why he should not be released or granted bail.
Afolabi was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 13, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while preparing to travel to Paris. His legal team subsequently approached the court, alleging that he had remained in the agency’s custody for about 14 days without being formally charged or arraigned before a court.
His father, Eric Afolabi, who filed an affidavit supporting the application, alleged that his son had not been informed of the specific offence for which he was arrested.
The applicant is seeking a declaration that his continued detention without a formal charge violates his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution. He is also asking the court to order his immediate release or, alternatively, grant him bail on liberal terms pending the filing of any criminal charge.
Afolabi further alleged that NDLEA operatives searched his residence in Banana Island, Lagos, after his arrest without showing him or members of his family a search warrant. According to his affidavit, the search allegedly yielded nothing incriminating.
He also alleged that the agency seized his iPhone 15 and demanded the password to the device, claiming that he was threatened when he refused to provide it.
The social media influencer maintained that the device contained private information belonging to him and his wife and that no narcotics, drug-related transactions or other material linking him to a criminal offence were allegedly discovered.
Afolabi has also accused the NDLEA of taking and circulating photographs and videos of him while in custody. He argued that the publication portrayed him as a criminal before trial and violated his constitutional rights to dignity and privacy.
He is consequently seeking N100 million in damages over the alleged circulation of his photographs and videos, another N50 million for alleged unlawful arrest and detention, and N40 million over the alleged invasion of his home and telephone privacy.
The applicant is also asking the court to order the return of several properties allegedly seized during the investigation. The items listed include €8,000, £3,000, luxury wristwatches, Hermès and Louis Vuitton bags, an iPhone 15, a Lexus RX350 and a 2024 Toyota Hilux.
Afolabi has denied that the listed properties were acquired from the proceeds of narcotics or other criminal activity.
He also raised concerns about his health, alleging that he suffers from acute and severe asthma and requires medical treatment that he claims cannot be adequately provided at the facility where he is being detained.
The NDLEA, however, has linked Afolabi’s arrest to an investigation arising from the interception of 184.50 kilogrammes of cocaine allegedly connected to an international drug trafficking network. The agency alleged that the network used Nigeria as a transit point for cocaine shipments destined for the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.
The anti-narcotics agency also alleged that the investigation led to the seizure of foreign currencies and luxury items and prompted searches connected with Afolabi.
The court’s latest order does not amount to a determination of guilt or innocence. It requires the NDLEA to respond to the fundamental-rights application and produce Afolabi before the court as directed.
The case has also attracted attention because another Federal High Court order reportedly granted the NDLEA a 30-day extension relating to Afolabi’s detention, creating a legal dispute over the circumstances surrounding his continued custody.
Justice Ogazi has adjourned the fundamental-rights matter until September 9, 2026, when the substantive application is expected to come up for hearing.
The proceedings will determine whether the court considers the continued detention lawful and whether Afolabi should be released or admitted to bail while any criminal investigation or potential prosecution continues.
For now, the allegations against KC Luxury remain subject to judicial determination, while the NDLEA is expected to justify its actions and comply with the court’s directive to produce him at the next hearing.
The case has placed renewed attention on the balance between the powers of law-enforcement agencies to investigate suspected drug trafficking and the constitutional rights of suspects to liberty, dignity, privacy and due process.
