A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday sentenced a 25-year-old man, Rasheed Lawal, to 18 months imprisonment, over drug peddling. Lawal, a cobbler, resides at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to a charge of drug trafficking preferred against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Tsoho said that the sentence would start running from Sept. 19, when the convict was arrested.
“Following the plea of the accused and all evidences adduced by the prosecution, the accused is found guilty as charged and is hereby convicted. “He is accordingly sentenced to a term of one and half years imprisonment, beginning from the date of his arrest. “The drug exhibits are to be destroyed by the NDLEA, if there is no appeal against this judgment,’’ he said.
The prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on Sept. 19. He said that Lawal was arrested at Ajiran Community in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State with about 300 grammes of Cannabis Sativa, also known as `Indian hemp’.
He said the accused was reported to be a major dealer of the narcotic substance in the area. He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation, 2004. The offence of drug trafficking could attract up to a term of life imprisonment, if convicted.
