Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced a Cape Verdean, Rosangela Homes Gonclaves, to six months imprisonment for importing two kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
The court handed down the verdict after the foreigner pleaded guilty to a two- count charge of unlawful importation of banned substance brought against her by the National Drug Laws and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The agency had stated that the convict was arrested with the said banned substance at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on July 21, 2013, with her alleged partner in crime, one Olua Uguru Christopher, who is said to now be at large.
The convict, who pleaded not guilty to the charge when she was initially docked before the court on November 12, 2013 later changed her plea and was re-arraigned.
The offences according to the NDLEA’s prosecutor, Fingere Odinneys, are contrary and punishable by section 11(a) and 14(b) of the National Drug Laws and Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N 30, of the laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The convict’s counsel, Chris Okenyi pleaded with the court for a lenient sentencing because the foreigner is a first time offender. and she is now remorseful.
Okenyi also told the court that the convict had been in the NDLEA detention since when she was arrested in 2013.
After listening to the lawyer, Justice Saidu sentenced the convict to six months imprisonment, which was to commenced from the date she was arrested.
