Justice Osiagor sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment in each of the five counts with an option of N350,000, 00 on each of the counts.
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
Justice Daniel Osiagor of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a 32-year-old drug baroness, Oladitan Serah Olufunmilayo, to a cumulative prison term of 15 years for exporting various prohibited hard drugs.
The prohibited drugs which the lady was caught exporting are 7 grammes of Cocaine; 11 grammes of Methamphetamine; 52 grammes of Cannabis Sativa; 47 grammes of Tramadol 225mg and 106 grammes of Rohphennol, which were psychotropic substances.
The lady who pleaded guilty to all the 5- counts charge was arraigned before the court by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
According to the charge, in count one, the lady admitted exporting 7 grammes of Cocaine; in count two, 11 grammes of Methamphetamine; in count three, 52 grammes of Cannabis Sativa: in count four, 47 grammes of tramadol 225 mg and in count five, 106 grammes of Rohphennol.
After she pleaded guilty to the five counts charge of trafficking in prohibited drugs,
the NDLEA prosecutor Mr. Augustine Nwagu, while reviewing the facts of the case, told the court that the convict was arrested with the prohibited drugs, on November 3, 2022, at NAHCO Export Shed at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, during the examination/ clearing of cargo to Dubai, a city in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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The prosecutor told the court that the offences committed by the lady contravened Sections 11(b) and 20(1)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; and punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the same Act.
In view of the lady’s plea, Mr Nwagu urged the court to convict and sentence her, according to the sections of the laws she was charged with.
But the convict’s defence counsel, Mr Dennis Warri pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing her, adding that his client was a first-time offender, who did not have a previous criminal record.
Warri told the court that the convict has been ill since last year December which was the reason she was not arraigned upon her arrest. He told the court that the convict was misled by those who gave her the drugs.
Citing a plethora of authorities, Mr Warri pleaded with the court to give the convict an option of fine and a non-custodian sentence in lieu of a custodian sentence.
He submitted that the convict has shown remorse and did not waste the precious time of the court, adding that the convict has been sick.
Delivering his judgement, Justice Osiagor sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment in each of the five counts with an option of N350,000, 00 on each of the counts.
Justice Osiagor ordered that the prison term shall run concurrently, meaning she is to spend three years in prison, while the fine option is to run consecutively, meaning she must pay the sum of N1, 750, 000, as a fine option.
The judge further ruled that the seized drugs shall be destroyed if there is no appeal against the judgement after the stipulated period.