Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a Brazilian based Nigerian businessman, Okafor Okwudili, who was arrested for hiding 2.5 kilograms of Cocaine in the toilet of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, to five years imprisonment.
Okwudili, was arraigned before the court sometime in 2022 by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over a four-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful importation of the narcotic.
The NDLEA had informed the court that the convict conspired with one Awuga and others, who was said to be at large, on November 11, 2021, in Brazil and Kenya, to smuggle the drug to Nigeria.
The ‘courier’ whom the convict used in smuggling the narcotic was said to have dropped it in the Airport’s toilet alongside the convict’s particulars.
He was, however, arrested on November 13, 2021, on his arrival from Kenya, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos and during investigation, the NDLEA claimed, the convict admitted being the owner of the drug.
The anti-drug agency had insisted that the offences violated sections 14(b) and 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The convict, who had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, later changed his plea to guilty, denied the charges and pleaded not guilty during the course of the trial.
Justice Daniel Osiagor, in his judgment, sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment.
He, however, ordered the convict to pay a fine of N1 million instead of the custodian sentence.
In addition to the fine, the judge ordered the convict to perform three weeks of community service.
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