Ayodele Olalere
The founder and General Overseer of Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly, Lagos, High Priest Nnodu Azuka Kenrick, was, on Friday, arraigned before a Lagos Federal High Court, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for unlawful exportation of 14.90 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa and 204 Grams of Methamphetamine.
He was charged along with Udezuka Udoka and Oyoyo Mary Obasi.
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The defendants were arraigned before Justice Akintayo Aluko on a count charge of conspiracy and unlawful possession of hard drugs.
While the General Overseer was arraigned on the fourth count charge of conspiracy, unlawful export of the drugs, and procuring, Udoka and Oyoyo were arraigned on all the conspiracy costs and illegal export of the drug.
According to the prosecutor, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, the defendants committed the offenses with one Chisom, now at large, on February 9, 2023, adding they were arrested with the drugs at the NAHCO Export Shed, a Customs Point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos.
The offenses, he told the court, contravened Sections 14 (b), 21 (2)(d), and 20 (1)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and punishable under Sections 11 (b) and 20(2)(a) of the same Act.
All the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges, which prompted the prosecutor to urge the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
Counsel to the defendants, Chief Benson Ndakara, expressed shock over the defendants’ guilty plea.
He told the court that he was surprised by the defendant’s change of mind after dissipating extra energy and time to prepare and file their bail applications. He, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the defendants on the ground that they are first-time offenders without any record of previous conviction.
Justice Aluko, after taking submissions of parties, convicted all the defendants as charged and ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services, NCoS until he pronounced their sentence.