Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday sentenced a 22-year-old fashion designer, Tunde Balogun, to 14 years' imprisonment for drug trafficking.
Balogun,
who pleaded guilty to a charge preferred against him by the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), was arraigned on March 12.
But the
court ordered that he should be remanded in prison custody pending when the
facts of the case were reviewed.
On Oct.
22, the prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, tendered the evidence before the court,
which were admitted and marked as exhibits.
Delivering
the sentence on Thursday, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia said the convict would spend
14 years in prison from the date of his arrest.
"The
convict is sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, beginning from the date of his
arrest.
"The
drug exhibits are to be destroyed if no appeal is filed against this
judgment," she said.
Earlier, the prosecutor had told the court that the
convict committed the offence on Sept. 15, 2014.
He said that the convict was
arrested in Agege Local Government Area with about 200 kilogrammes of Cannabis
Sativa, a.k.a Indian hemp.
The offence contravened
Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation, 2004.
The convict told the court
that he was a fashion designer and needed money to establish his fashion house.
He claimed that he was a
first-time offender who was lured into the act of drug trafficking to make ends
meet and prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.
The News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) reports that the offence of drug trafficking could attract up to a term
of life imprisonment if found guilty. (NAN)
By Abdul
Wasiihassan
NIGERIAN FASHION DESIGNER JAILED 14 YEARS FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
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