A Federal High Court in Ibadan on Wednesday sentenced a drug trafficker, Bashiru Mohammed, to 13 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to transporting two kilogrammes of cannabis.
Justice N.E. Maha, in her judgment, convicted and sentenced Mohammed based on the evidence tendered by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as well as his guilty plea.
Maha added that she also considered Section 270 of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 which prescribed a reduction of sentence for anyone who pleaded guilty.
The convict was sentenced for being in possession of a luggage concealed with two kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and two kilogrammes of methanehetaine, a psychotropic substance
“I hope that the convict is truly remorseful of his action, because any further participation in crime will earn him stiffer punishment.
”Let me warn that you will be sentenced to life imprisonment, where you will not have the opportunity of seeing any of your relatives again if you are brought back for any crime again. Do you understand?
“The Nigeria Correctional Service must urgently take the convict to the hospital for treatment in view of the serious injury on his leg.
“To serve as a deterrent to others, Mohammed is sentenced to 13 months in prison for each of the two offences.
“The sentences shall, however, run concurrently. Sentencing starts from the date he was first arrested and detained. The weed and psychotropic substance found in his possession shall be destroyed by the NDLEA,” the judge held.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict had walked into the dock barefooted and badly dressed, raising concern about his well-being.
He told the judge upon interrogation that he was not feeling well in addition to nursing a serious leg injury.
The defense counsel, Mr Musibau Olapade, had shortly before the judgment prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client.
Olapade said that Mohammed, apart from being a first-time offender, did not waste the court’s time and was his family’s breadwinner. (NAN)
