Court Jails Drug Carrier 6 Years

A 45 year old man, Ekwe Arinze, has been convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment, for unlawful dealing in 76 Kilogrames of cannabis sativa a.k.a. marijuana.

Ekwe was convicted and awarded the jail-term by Justice Akintayo Aluko of a Federal High Court Lagos, last Friday, after being arraigned before the court by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The prosecutor, Barrister Peter Ekuri, had told the court that the convict was arrested with the prohibited drug on February 17, 2026, in one of the motor parks belonging to Young Shall Grow Motor.

The prosecutor had told the court that the illegal act of the convict contravened Section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and punishable under the same Act.

The convict who admitted committing the offence, however feigned to be ignorant of the drug, claiming in his confessional statement that a parcel where the drug was concealed, was given to him to deliver at the motor park by one of his friends, but failed to give out the friend’s name.

The convict, who told the court that he was a first time offender without any previous records of conviction, however prayed the court for mercy, saying that he will never engage in illegal act, if given another opportunity.

The trial judge, after confirming from the prosecutor that the convicted man was a first time offender, sentenced him to six years imprisonment.

The judge however gave him a N3 million as fine option in lieu of the jail-term.

Charge against the defendant reads: “That you Ekwe Arinze “m” 45 Years old, on or about the 17th day of February, 2026, at the Young Shall Grow Motorpark, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without lawful authority, dealt in 76 Kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, a Narcotic Drug similar to Cocaine, LSD and Heroin and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”