A 38-year-old, Samuel Ola, is to spend the next two years behind bars for drug trafficking, a Federal High Court handed down the verdict in Lagos on Thursday.
Ola, a bricklayer, was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a charge of drug trafficking. He was caught with 450 grammes of hemp.
He pleaded guilty to the charges.
Justice Mohammed Idris, who delivered the judgment, said the accused is guilty as charged.
“The convict is hereby sentenced to two years of imprisonment to be calculated from the date of his arrest.
“The exhibits (drugs) are to be returned to the NDLEA for destruction,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict had pleaded for mercy and urged the court to give him a `second chance’ to make amends with a promise not to commit such offences in future.
Earlier, the NDLEA Prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, reviewed the facts of the case and led one prosecution witness in evidence.
Some documents tendered in evidence before the court include a scientific analysis, written statement of the accused, a request for scientific aid form and a bulk of the exhibit.
Aernan thereafter closed his case and urged the court to sentence the accused in accordance with Section 356 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and based on evidences adduced.
The prosecution had told the court that the accused was arrested on Nov. 18, 2017 at Ajasa Command, a Lagos suburb, with 450 grammes of narcotics.
The offence contravened the provisions of Section 11 ( c) of the NDLEA Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004. (NAN)