Ayodele Olalere
Justice Nicholas Oweibo,of a Federal High Court, Lagos, on Monday, convicted and sentenced two men, John Kanu, and Obinna Eze, to four years imprisonment, for unlawful possession of 839.4kg of pangolin scales and 145kg of elephant tusks.
The convicts were brought before the court by the Federal Operation Unit, Zone A, of the Nigerian Customs Services, Lagos, and arraigned alongside Anthony Onyebuchi and Monday Nnamanni.
While Kanu and Eze pleaded guilty to the offence, Anthony and Monday had pleaded not guilty.
According to the prosecutors, David Ereh, Michael Osong and Abidemi Aluko, the convicts and others on February 2, 2022, conspired among themselves to warehoused the prohibited items, at Adeba in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State, an action that contravened Sections 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Section 7(3) of the National Environmental (Protection of Endangered Species in International Trade) Regulations, 20n and punishable under Section 7(4) of the same Regulations, and Section 5(1) of the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) (Amendment) Act, 2016, which is punishable under Section 5(1)(a) of the same Act.
In his judgment, Justice Oweibo sentenced the two convicts to two years each on count one and two, while pardoning them on count three.
The judge has adjourned till September 28, for the trial of the remaining two defendants.
