The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday arraigned a drug trafficker, Uduekwelu Onyekachukwu, before a Federal High Court in Lagos State for allegedly trafficking 24.50kg of Ephedrine, a proscribed narcotic.
The defendant is facing two charges of conspiracy and trafficking of 24.50kg of Ephedrine, presented against him by NDLEA.
The NDLEA prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, informed the court that the defendant who is a resident of No 7, Promiseland, Dansa, Abule Osun, Lagos, was arrested on January 30, 2023.
He claimed Onyekachukwu was detained during the assessment of shipments to Congo, at the NAHCO export shed, a Customs area/point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos.
The prosecution informed the court that the defendant collaborated with one Paul, dubbed ‘Aku Powder’, who is currently at large.
Ibrahim further informed the court that the defendant recruited one freight agency, Oladapo Olatunbosun, to export the illicit material.
According to him, the acts committed contravened Sections 14 (b) and 21 (2)(d) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and punishable under Section 11(b) of the said Act.
Nonetheless, the defendant pled not guilty to the counts.
After his not-guilty plea, the prosecution sought a trial date and also urged the court to send the defendant to the correctional institution awaiting the decision of the allegations.
Yet his attorney, Dennis Warri, persuaded the court to accept his client to bail on generous terms.
Judge Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, in a bench judgment, allowed the defendant to bail in the amount of N50m, with one surety in a similar quantity.
The judge ruled that the surety must be a landed property owner within the court’s order
Judge Lewis-Allagoa ordered the detention of the defendant and delayed the issue to May 19, for trial.
In a similar scenario, Judge Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the same court convicted and punished a man, Musbau Fashola, who was charged with smuggling 57kg of Indian hemp, commonly called marijuana.
The prisoner, a resident of the Patey area of Lagos Island, Lagos State, was originally arraigned before the court by the NDLEA sometime in 2018, on counts touching on illicit dealing and transportation of the forbidden weeds.
The acts contravened Sections 11(c) and 21 (2)(d) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
But, during the resumed hearing of the matter on Wednesday, the inmate notified the court of his wish to modify his prior guilty plea, which was approved by the court.
He was re-arraigned on accusations which bordered on transportation of the forbidden cannabis and the prisoner pled guilty to the crime.
In light of his plea of guilty, the prosecution, A. Adebajo, requested the court to convict and punish him in compliance with the NDLEA Act he was charged with.
The lawyer for the prisoner, G. U. Okaka, however, appealed to the court to be merciful in punishing his client.
He also petitioned the court for an option of a fine in place of a caretaker term.
Judge Aneke in his verdict condemned the prisoner to three years imprisonment.
He, however, granted him an option of N500, 000, instead of the prison sentence.
