A Lagos Federal High Court, Friday, convicted and sentenced two Indian hemp merchants, Saliu Wasiu and Afolabi Banjo to 15 years imprisonment for conspiracy and unlawful dealing in 247 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa popularly known as marijuana and Igbo in Yoruba parlance.
Saliu 48 and Afolabi 47, were given the jail-term by Justice Akintayo Aluko, after they pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful dealing in the banned weed, after they were brought before the court by the operative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The convicts, Mr. Lambert Nor, while arraigning the convicts, told the court that they were arrested on June 5, 2023, at Ebute-metta arear of Lagos State.
The prosecutor also told the court that the convicts illegally used their houses, to warehoused the prohibited weeds.
He told the court that the convicts’ acts, contravened Sections 14(b) and 11(c) of the NDLEA Act Cap N.30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. And punishable under section 12 of the same Act.
With the convicts’ guilty plea to the charges, the prosecutor, Mr. Lambert, urged the court to convict them in relation with the sections of the law they were charged with.
But the convicts’ lawyer, Mr. Prosper Oke Ojakovo, in his allucutor, persuaded the court, to temper Justce with mercy, I’m sentencing his clients.
Prosper particularly told the court to consider timely plea guilty of his clients who are first time convicts, at earlier opportunity time, which he said they did not waste the time of the court. And that his clients have became remorseful and promised never to go back or involved in any criminality.
He also urged the court to give his clients fine option in lieu of custodian sentence.
Justice Aluko in his judgment after taken Into consideration all the submissions made by parties, and mitigating factors, sentenced each of the convicts to five years imprisonment on each of the the counts.
The judge however, gave the convicts monetary fine option of N1. 5 million on each of the counts.
The judge however ordered that both the sentence and the fine option shall run concurrently.
