Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday convicted and sentenced five women for unlawful importation of 6.96 Kilogrames of Ghana loud, a particular species of cannabis sativa, popularly called marijuana.
The convicts, Basirat Olarigbibe, Fatima Garuba, Amudalat Adekunle, Oloye Arafat Awele, and Ademola Bola, were sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice Aneke.
The judge handed down the verdict after the convicts pleaded guilty to a six-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful importation of the prohibited substance brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The prosecutor, Andover Yuanyam, had told the court that the convicts were arrested with the prohibited substance on August 21, 2024, at Seme Border, Badagry Local Government Area, Lagos State.
Yuanyam also claimed that the first convict, Olarigbibe, was arrested with 1.54 kilograms, and the second and third convicts, Garuba and Adekunle, were detained with 1.47 kilograms and 1.52 kilograms of the banned drug.
He also told the court that Awele and Bola were arrested with 1.53 kilograms and 900 grams of the banned substance, respectively.
The lawyer had further stated that offences contravened sections 14 and 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).
Based on their plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts and urged the court to sentence them based on their plea and the exhibits tendered in the matter.
However, the defence lawyer, Oke Ojakovo, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his clients because they are first-time offenders who did not waste the court’s time.
Ojakovo also told the court that the first and second convicts were widows who were the ones responsible for their families.
He, therefore, urged the court to impose on the convicts a non-custodial sentence or an option of a fine.
Justice Aneke, after confirming from the prosecutor that the convicted women are first-time offenders, sentenced each of them to two years’ imprisonment from today on each count.
The judge ordered that the sentences are to run concurrently, he, however, awarded an option of N500k fine and 100 hours of community service instead of the jail term on each of them.
