Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a drug trafficker, Samuel Uba to three years imprisonment for attempting to smuggle 633 grammes of cocaine into Nigeria.
Justice Aluko handed down the verdict after Uba pleaded guilty to a one-count charge brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The convict was arrested with the drug on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 15, 2022, during the clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The prosecutor, Augustine Nwagu, told the court that the offence violated Section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of 2004.
Nwagu, while reviewing the facts of the case, tendered the bulk of the drug recovered from the Convict, his confessional statement, international passport, laboratory test analysis and forensic report, which were all admitted as exhibits by the court.
The convict through his counsel urged the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that he is a first-time offender and that he has promised not to engage in such acts in the future.
Justice Aluko after listening to the review of facts and the convict’s plea for mercy sentenced him to three years imprisonment from the day of his arrest.
Justice Aluko however gave the convict an option of an N400,000 fine instead of the Jail-term.
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