The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a 32-year-old woman, Olufunmilayo Oladitan, to 15 years for drug trafficking.
The trial judge, Justice Daniel Osiagor jailed Oladitan after she pleaded guilty to a five-count charge of trafficking in illicit drugs brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The prosecutor, Augustine Nwagu, had told the judge that the convict was in possession of seven grammes of cocaine; 11 grammes of methamphetamine; 52 grammes of cannabis sativa; 47 grammes of tramadol 225mg, and 106 grammes of rohypnol, which were psychotropic substances when she was arrested.
Nwagu said the convict was arrested with the prohibited drugs on November 3, 2022, at NAHCO Export Shed at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, during the examination/clearing of cargo to Dubai, a city in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The lawyer stated that the offence contravened sections 11(b) and 20(1)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; and were punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the same Act.
Based on her plea, Nwagu urged the court to convict and sentence her in accordance with the sections of the laws under which she was charged.
But the defence lawyer, Dennis Warri, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that his client was a first-time offender and without previous criminal record.
Warri also informed Justice Osiagor that the convict had been sick since December, which was the reason why she was not arraigned upon her arrest.
Justice Osiagor, in his judgment, sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment on each count, with an option of N350,000 on each of the counts.
The judge, however, ordered that the jail term shall run concurrently, meaning she is to spend three years in prison, while the fine option is to run consecutively, meaning she must pay the sum of N1,750,000.
The judge also directed that the seized drugs should be destroyed if there was no appeal against the judgment after the stipulated period.
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