A Federal High Court in Ibadan on Wednesday sentenced an ailing drug trafficker, Segun Blessing, 37, to one year imprisonment for peddling 850g of Cannabis sativa.
Justice Nkeonye Maha said she convicted and sentenced Blessing based on his guilty plea and the evidence against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo State Command.
Maha added that the convict would have been given a more severe punishment but for his ill health.
“I hope that Blessing is truly remorseful of his bad actions and would not return to drug trafficking after completing his jail term.
“However, to serve as a deterrent to others, the convict is sentenced to one year imprisonment, starting from the date he was first arrested.
“The exhibit found in his possession shall be destroyed by the NDLEA,” Maha held.
The defence counsel, Mr Musibau Olapade, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client because he was a hernia patient.
Olapade further explained that the convict was rejected due to the serious nature of his ailment at the Agodi Correctional Centre, where he was ordered to be remanded.
This, he said, forced NDLEA to keep him in their facility before Wednesday’s judgment.
Earlier, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Daniel Otunla, had told the court that the convict committed the crime on July 25, at the Akufo area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to Otunla, NDLEA operatives acted on a tip-off from informants that Blessing was a cannabis peddler.
He noted that the operatives swung into action and caught the convict in possession of a bag containing 850g of the illicit substance.
The prosecutor noted that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 11(C) of the NDLEA Act Cap 30, Law of the Federation 2004.
