Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced two Benin nationals and two Nigerians to five years in prison each for smuggling 5.622 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa jailed the convicts comprising Fanou Mireille a.k.a. Fanoun Mireille and Noudeha Hilda, both from Benin Republic as well as Akande Olayemi, a.k.a. Akande Olayemi Babatunde, and Luadun Fadekemi, both Nigerians, after they pleaded guilty to the charge.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned the convicts before the court on a three-count charge of conspiracy, trafficking and possession of a controlled substance.
The prosecutor, Aondover Yuanyam, accused the convicts, along with others still at large, of conspiring, on June 2, 2025, at the Seme Border in Badagry local government area of Lagos State, to smuggle cocaine with a street value of approximately N89,916,000 into the country.
Yuanyam maintained that the offences were contrary to Sections 14(b), 11(a), and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).
Following their guilty pleas, Yuanyam presented the facts of the case and submitted evidence, including the bulk of the seized drug.
He then urged the court to convict the defendants, based on the evidence provided and their admissions of guilt.
The prosecutor pointed out the seriousness of the offence, noting that cocaine is classified as a Class A drug and that the quantity involved was significant.
The defence counsel, Emmanuel Okenyi, urged the court to be lenient with his clients, arguing that they were first-time offenders who did not waste the court’s time by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Okenyi also stated that they had recognised their mistakes and promised to change their lives.
He further prayed the judge to impose a non-custodial sentence on the convicts instead of a jail term.
After listening to the lawyers, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced each convict to five years of imprisonment for the three counts; he, however, imposed a fine of N1 million each as an alternative option.
