Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Mrs. Ugbe Chinwe Jacinta, a mother of three, to three years in prison for trafficking 8.50 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, commonly known as marijuana.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) brought a charge of illegal importation against Jacinta, which led to her conviction. According to NDLEA counsel Bibiana Anagu, Jacinta, who is based in Awka, Anambra State, was apprehended at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to receive the prohibited substance.
Anagu informed the court that Jacinta's actions violated Section 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. During the trial, the prosecutor presented several pieces of evidence, including Jacinta's confessional statement, the seized drug, and a certificate of test analysis.
After reviewing the evidence, Anagu urged the court to convict and sentence Jacinta based on her guilty plea and the exhibits presented. However, Jacinta's lawyer, Emmanuel Okenyi, pleaded for leniency, describing his client as a victim of circumstances and a first-time offender who had been deceived into carrying the prohibited substance.
Okenyi requested a non-custodial sentence or a fine in lieu of imprisonment. After confirming with the prosecutor that Jacinta had no prior convictions, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced her to three years in prison but offered an alternative: a fine of N3 million in place of the jail term.
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