52-yr-old woman bags jail term for peddling in banned narcotics
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted a 52 year-old, Olabisi Mariam and sentenced her to two years imprisonment for trading in banned narcotic.
The convict, a resident of 20, Orunjamogu Street, Awobo, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos, was given the jail-term on Wednesday, by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, after she pleaded guilty to a four count charge of unlawful dealing in the narcotics.
According to the prosecutor M. I. Erondu, the convict was arrested on June 15, where she was selling the said proscribed narcotics.
Erondu told the court that the convict was caught with 900 Grams of Cannabis Sativa, popularly called Indian hemp; 3 Grams of Cocaine; 12 Grams of Rohypnol and 9 Grams of Molly, both psychotropic substance.
She told the court that the offences committed by the convict, contravened Sections 11 (c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Upon the plea of guilty to the charges preferred against her, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence her in accordance with the sections of the NDLEA Act she was charged with.
However, counsel to the convicted woman, Mr. Prosper Oke Ojakovo, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client.
Ojakovo while citing plethoras of authorities, told the court that his client has turned a new leaf and promised not to engage in crime if giving second chance.
He therefore prayed the court to give his client an option of fine in lieu of the custodian sentence.
Delivering judgment in the charge, Justice Oweibo after taken submissions from both counsel, sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment in each of the counts.
The judge ordered that the jail-term should run concurrently. However, he ordered the convict to pay fine option of N200, 000, on each of the counts.
The judge held that the fine option should be paid consecutively.
