Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a widow, Atinuke Adewunmi, to six months imprisonment for attempting to export 5.7 kilograms of Codeine from Nigeria to the United Kingdom.
Justice Aluko handed down the verdict after Adewunmi, a resident of 35 Olatunji Street, Ojota, Lagos, pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful exportation of the prohibited drug, brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, had earlier told the judge that the convict was arrested with the prohibited drugs on July 27, 2023, at Skyway Handling Company (SAHCO) Export Shed, a Customs Point/Area of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos, during the examination of cargoes to the United Kingdom (UK).
Ibrahim had also claimed that the convict’s action contravened Section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under the same Act.
Based on the guilty plea of the convict, the court ordered the prosecutor to review the facts of the case and tender all exhibits recovered from her. The court later admitted all the exhibits.
Ibrahim, thereafter, urged the court to convict and sentence the convict by the sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and section 11(b) of the NDLEA Act, 2004.
But the defence lawyer, Chief Benson Ndakara, in his plea for mercy, urged the court to be lenient in sentencing his client.
Ndakara said, “She has not wasted the court’s time, she has no criminal record, she is remorseful and she is a widow with a son.’’
Justice Aluko, in his judgment, after considering all mitigating factors in favour of the convict, sentenced her to six months imprisonment.
The judge, however, ordered her to pay a fine of N300,000 instead of the jail term. He also ordered the convict to perform community service in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State for one week, two hours daily.
