A Federal High Court in Ibadan has sentenced a middle aged man, Kazeem Lamidi, to 16 years imprisonment for trafficking 407 grammes of Cannabis Sativa.
Justice Nkeonye Maha convicted and sentenced Lamidi after he pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of unlawful dealing in narcotics leveled against him.
Maha stated that the law had to be applied against the convict to serve as a deterrent to other would-be drug traffickers.
She said that the records before the court indicated that Lamidi was not a first time offender, hence the need for the sentence.
“Therefore, Lamidi is sentenced to 16 years imprisonment from the date he was arrested.
“The weed exhibit found in his possession shall be destroyed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,” Maha held.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 11(C )of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 prescribes a maximum of life imprisonment for anyone convicted.
Earlier, Counsel to the NDLEA, Mr Daniel Otunla, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on June 6, at Bodija area, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Otunla said that the NDLEA operatives acted on intelligence reports that Lamidi was into the illicit business of drug trafficking.
According to him, the operatives apprehended the convict in possession of a bag containing 407 grammes of the illicit substance.
The prosecutor pointed out that the offence contravened the provisions of section 11 (C ) of the NDLEA Act Cap n30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
