Lagos Court Imposes Two-Year Prison Sentences on Five Women for Cannabis Importation.
Five ladies were found guilty and given two-year prison sentences apiece by a Federal High Court in Lagos for smuggling 6.96 kilogrammes of “Ghana loud,” a strong variety of cannabis sativa, or marijuana.
The women who were found guilty are Ademola Bola (also known as Tolulope Oluwaseun Osibeluwo or Tolulope Ademola), Oloye Arafat Awele (also known as Akanni Balikis Oluwatoyin), Fatima Garuba (also known as Fatima Ladidi Abogun), Amudalat Adekunle (also known as Amudalat Ajetunmobi), and Basirat Olarigbibe (also known as Basirat Olarigbibe; also known as Basirat Feyisara Olaribigbe).
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency charged the women with six counts of conspiracy and unlawful importation, and on Monday, October 28, 2024, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke found them guilty and punished them.
Andover G. Yuanyam, the prosecution attorney for the NDLEA, had earlier informed the court that the women had been arrested on August 21, 2024, at the Seme Border in Lagos State’s Badagry Local Government Area.
Yuanyam reported to the court that Garuba and Adekunle possessed 1.47 and 1.52 kilogrammes of the drug, respectively, while Olarigbibe had 1.54 kilogrammes.
Awele and Bola were also found in possession of 1.53 kilogrammes and 900 grammes, he informed the court.
Sections 14 and 11(a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended), were violated, the prosecutor claimed.
The prosecution outlined the case’s facts and sought the court to impose a sentence based on the guilty plea and supporting evidence after the women entered guilty pleas to the charges.
However, Oke Ojakovo, the defence attorney, asked the court to be lenient, pointing out that all five of the ladies were first-time offenders who did not postpone court procedures.
He emphasised that two of the women are widows who are alone in charge of their family and asked for a fine or a non-custodial punishment.
Justice Aneke sentenced each lady to two years in prison, with the terms to run concurrently, after verifying that they were first-time offenders.
But instead of putting them in jail, he offered them a N500,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.
