Ayodele Olalere
Justice Akintayo Aluko of a Federal High Court sitting, in Lagos State, on Wednesday, sentenced one Stanley Obinna Nwora, who recently returned from United States of America, two years jail term, for unlawful importation and possession of Indian hemp.
Stanley was brought before the court by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, after he was arrested on May 27, 2023 at his resident 6, Moses Ebitu, SPG Road Ologolo, Lekki, Lagos, for being in possession of 543 grams of Cannabis Sativa popularly called marijuana,
He was arraigned before the court on June 18 and had pleaded guilty but the prosecution was unable to review the facts of the offence due to indisposed of the exhibits keeper.
The court, consequently, deferred the matter untill Wednesday for review of the facts of the offences and sentence of the convict.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the Prosecutor, Mr. Umar Hussain, told the court that the offences which the convict was charged with contravened Sections 11(a) 19 of the NDLEA Act Cap. N30 Laws of the Federation, 2004 (as Amended).
The prosecutor also called a witness, Mr. Moses Dogo, an operative in the agency, who tendered all exhibits in the matter.
Upon admitting the exhibits, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence the convict in accordance with the sections of the NDLEA Act he was charged with.
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The convict’s counsel, Chief Benson Ndakara, in his allucutor, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client, as was a first time offender without any record of previous conviction.
He argued that the convict was deceived by friends, to collect a parcel which he did not know the content.
Justice Aluko after taking argument of counsels, sentenced the convict to one year in each of the counts, adding that the time of the sentence shall run concurrently.
The lawyer urged the court to consider none custodian sentence for his client and option of fine in lieu of jail terms.
The judge, however, ordered the convict to pay the sum of N300, 000, in lieu of the jail-term.