DRUG TRAFFICKER JAILED FOR 4 YEARS OVER 800G DRUG SMUGGLING OFFENSE
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The Federal High Court in Lagos State found drug trafficker Nnamani Sunday guilty on Monday of trying to export 800 grams of Cannabis Sativa, also known as marijuana, to the United Kingdom and sentenced him to four years in prison.
Justice Ayokunle Faji sentenced Sunday without the possibility of a fine.
Mr. Abu Ibrahim, the prosecutor for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, had previously informed the court that Sunday was taken into custody on August 10, 2024, while commodities headed to the United Kingdom were being examined at the Skyway Handling Company Export Shed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
Abu informed the judge that the inmate had hidden the weeds in packs of Chikki Noodles.
Additionally, he informed the court that the convicted individual had hired Nwajideopi Samson to export the illegal substance.
Sections 11(b) and 20(2)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 were violated, the prosecutor claimed, and the offenses were punished.
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However, upon being arraigned before the court, the convicted individual entered a guilty plea to the two counts designated FHC/L/788c/2024.
After the defendant entered a guilty plea, the prosecutor urged the court to convict and punish him in line with the allegations against him, citing several authorities and provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
Anthony Nnamoko, the convict’s attorney, begged the court to sentence his client with a combination of mercy and justice.
Because his client was a first-time offender and to avoid wasting the court’s valuable time, Nnamoko also begged the judge to accept a monetary alternative in lieu of the custodial sentence.
Following a legal review of the prosecutor’s and the defendant’s attorney’s arguments, Justice Faji issued a sentence of two years in jail on each count, with no possibility of a fine.
However, Justice Faji mandated that the sentences be served simultaneously.
Jude Onah, 52, was found guilty and given a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence by Justice Yellim Bogoro of the same Federal High Court for trafficking 7.9 kilograms of cannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana.
After entering a guilty plea to three charges of unauthorized importation, trafficking, and possession of 7.9 kilograms of the illegal substance, the convicted individual was sentenced to prison.
The NDLEA claims that the prisoner was taken into custody at its checkpoint in Badagry, Lagos State, in July 2024.
Aondofa Korijor, the prosecuting attorney for the NDLEA, informed the court during the convict’s arraignment that the defendant had tried to import the illegal drug into Nigeria from a neighboring country in a Sienna.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004’s Sections 11(a), 11(b), and 19 were violated, according to the prosecutor.
The convict entered a guilty plea after being read the charge with the number FHC/L/607c/24.
The NDLEA prosecutor urged the court to convict him and sentence him in line with the provisions of the NDLEA Act he was charged under, based on his guilty plea.
However, because of some aggravating circumstances, such as the fact that he was a first-time offender and did not want to waste the court’s time by entering a guilty plea to the accusations, his attorney, Oke Ojakovo, begged the court to balance justice with mercy while sentencing his client.
In addition, Ojakovo begged the court to substitute a fine for the custodial sentence.
After hearing the prosecutor’s and the defendant’s attorney’s arguments, Justice Bogoro sentenced the defendant to one year on count one and six months on count two.
Instead of imposing a jail sentence, the judge mandated that the convicted individual pay N1.9 million. Additionally, Justice Bogora mandated that the Federal Government of Nigeria get the Sienna used to transport the narcotics.
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