In Lagos on Wednesday, the Federal High Court delivered a verdict, convicting and sentencing Mr. Ikechukwu Okafor and his wife, Ifeyinwa Okafor, to a two-year imprisonment term.
The charges stemmed from their unlawful involvement with 19.12 kilograms of Methamphetamine, a prohibited substance.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo administered the sentence to the couple, residents of Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos State, subsequent to their admission of guilt.
The charges, brought forth by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, included five counts ranging from conspiracy to unlawful dealing and possession of the banned substance.
The couple faced prosecution for their actions on October 5, 2023, at their residence in Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, as outlined by the prosecutor, Mr. A. G. Yaunyam.
He told the court that the offences contravened sections 14, 19, and 11(c) of the NDLEA Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004
Following the couple’s guilty plea, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence them in accordance with the sections of the NDLEA Act they were charged with.
However, their lawyer, Benson Ndakara, pleaded with the court to be lenient with his clients and to temper justice with mercy in sentencing them.
Ndakara while citing a plethora of authorities, told the court that his clients were first-time convicts, who did not have previous conviction records.
He therefore urged the court to give his clients a non-custodian sentence or a fine option.
Consequently, Justice Oweibo, in his judgment, sentenced the couple to 24 months imprisonment.
The judge, however, ordered each of the convicts to pay the sum of N300m, as a fine option on each of the counts, totalling N1.5m each.
