NAN-H-62
Imprisonment
By Sandra Umeh
Lagos, Jan. 27, 2017 (NAN) A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 39-year-old man, Abel Daniel, to five years imprisonment for trafficking in marijuana.
The accused was charged by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a count.
Daniel, who had no legal counsel, had pleaded guilty on arraignment on Nov. 7, 2016.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Friday, the prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, presented the facts of the case for review by the court.
Aernan tendered as evidence, a written statement of the accused, a request for scientific aid form, a drug analysis form and a bulk of the banned substance.
These were admitted by the court as exhibits.
In his judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris found Daniel guilty as charged.
The judge held that the sentence would take effect from the date of Daniel’s arrest.
In the charge sheet, the NDLEA stated that Daniel sold 8.4kg of marijuana on Akin Dickson Road on Victoria Island, Lagos, on April 25, 2016.
The agency added that he distributed 7.4kg of the substance to urchins at the Maruwa Ghetto on Victoria Island, on Aug. 28, 2016.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that drug trafficking contravenes the provisions of Sections 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, 2004. (NAN)
UNS/IGO
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(Edited by Ijeoma Popoola)