Lagos, Nigeria – A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has awarded five-years jail term to Okafor Okwudili, a Brazil-Kenya returnee for hiding 2.55 kilograms of Cocaine in the toilet of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
The convict was charged with offences bordering on conspiracy and unlawful importation of the narcotic and he has has been standing trial before the court since 2022.
It was learnt that the convict was said to have conspired with one Awuga and one other person, who was said to be at large, on November 11, 2021, in Brazil and Kenya, to smuggle the drug to Nigeria.
He was however arrested on November 13, 2021, on his arrival from Kenya, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos. Upon thorough investigation and questioning, the convict admitted to being the owner of the drug.
His offences were said to have contravened Sections 14(b) and 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
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The convict had denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. At the resumed trial of the charge, the convict changed his earlier not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to the charges.
However, the counsel to the convict, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client. The counsel particularly pleaded with the court, to award his client a fine option in lieu of a custodian sentence.
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Justice Daniel Osiagor, in his judgment, sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment.
The judge however ordered the convict to pay a fine of N1 million, in lieu of the custodian sentence. In addition to a monetary fine, the judge ordered the convict to perform three weeks of community service.
