A 51-year-old widow, Adewunmi Taiwo, who tried to export 5.70 kg of Codeine to the United Kingdom, was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
Justice Akintayo Aluko sentenced her on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, after she pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful exportation of Codeine preferred against her by the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency.
The NDLEA prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that she committed the offence on July 27, 2023.
According to Ibrahim, the incident took place at Skyway Handling Company export shed, a customs point/ area of Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos State.
The prosecutor said the offence committed contravened Section 11(b) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The convict’s counsel, Benson Ndakara, in his plea for leniency in sentencing Taiwo, told the court that she is a widow and a first-time offender.
Justice Aluko sentenced the convict to six months imprisonment with an option of N300, 000 fine.
In a separate case, the judge also sentenced a 37-year-old musician, Femi Saka, to one-year imprisonment with an option of N600,000 fine for dealing in hard drugs.
The judge convicted Saka after he pleaded guilty to the three counts preferred against him.
Saka was arraigned on three counts of having Cannabis Sativa, Methamphetamine and Molly.
The prosecution counsel, M. I. Erondu, told the court that the convict committed the offences on July 11, 2023.
The convct’s counsel, O. Jakovo, pleaded with the court for leniency in sentencing the convict by giving him a non-custodial sentence.
Justice Aluko sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment with an option of N200,000 fine each for the three counts, totalling N600,000.