Man, woman bag 5 yrs, 3yrs prison time for peddling illicit drugs
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has convicted a male and female for trafficking in hard drugs. The convicted persons are Nwuzor Simon ( m). Monsurat Garuba ( f).
The duo who were charged separately by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), were convicted by Justice Akintayo Aluko, after they pleaded guilty to the charges made against them by the anti-narcotic agency.
The convicted woman, Monsurat Garuba was arraigned on a three count-charge of dealing in 2.8 Kilogrames of Cannabis Sativa, 0.2 Litres of Codeine and 0.014kilogrammes of Rophynol, while the convicted man, Nwuzor Simon, a resident of 6 Adeniko Street, Bariga, was arraigned on a count-charge of procuring one Nwafor Chimezie Innocent, to export 2.10 kilograms of Methamphetamine.
The prosecutors, N. J. Mamza and Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the convicted woman was arrested with the prohibited drugs on April 5, 2023 at Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos, while the convicted man was arrested on March 17, 2023.
The prosecutors told the court that the offences committed by the convicts, contravened Sections 11(c) and 21 (2)(d) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ACT Cap N.30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under Section 11(b) of the same Act.
The convicts admitted committing the offences.
With their guilty pleas, the prosecutors reviewed the facts of the charges and tendered exhibits in the matter. They urged the court to sentence the convicts in accordance with the sections of the laws they were charged with.
However, in their allocutus, counsel to the convicts, Mrs. Bolanle Kolawole and Dennis Warri, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing their clients.
The defence counsel cited plethoras of authorities to support their pleas.
In his judgment, Justice Akintayo Aluko sentenced the woman to a total of five years imprisonment, while the convicted man was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The judge however ordered the two convicts to pay the sum of N500, 000 and N300, 000, respectively in lieu of the jail-term.
The judge also ordered the convicts to perform two weeks community work at Eti-Osa Local Government and Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja, Lagos respectively.
The judge ordered the NDLEA to destroy the drug exhibits recovered from the convicts, if there is no appeal against the judgement within the stipulated time.
