Justice Tijjani Ringim of a Federal High Court, Lagos has convicted and sentenced a nursing mother, Adeoye Oluwakemi Fatimoh, to six years imprisonment, for trafficking in banned substances.
The judge sentenced her after she pleaded guilty to two counts charge of unlawful export of 1.10 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa popularly called marijuana and 17 grams of Rohypnol, a psychotropic substance, filed against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
NDLEA counsel, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, while arraigning the convict, told the court that she was arrested with the prohibited drug on November 18, 2022, which she wanted to export to Oman, at the Gate ‘C’ of the Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight.
The prosecution counsel told the court that her offences contravened section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
After the arraignment, the convict admitted committing the offences and pleaded guilty to the two counts. The prosecutor therefore prayed the court to convict and sentence her in accordance with the sections of the NDLEA she was charged with.
In her plea of mercy, her lawyer, Chief Lilian Omotunde, urged the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing her client. She told the court that if given second chance, she will not engage in any form of crimes.
She urged the court to consider the timely guilty plea of the convict, whom she described as a first time offender who did not have previous conviction record. She also urged the court to consider an award of fine in lieu of custodian sentencing.
Abu also told the court that the convict did not have any previous conviction record. After listening to both parties, and after citing plethora of decided cases, the judge sentenced the convict to three years jail-term in each of the count.
Justice Ringim, while order that the jail-term is to run consecutively, however gave the convict an option of fine of N500, 000, 00 in count one only. The judge also ordered that the banned substances confiscated from the convict be destroyed by the NDLEA after the appeal period has lapsed.
