Court Jails Sudanese 2 Years For Drug Trafficking

Justice Salliu Saidu of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Monday convicted and sentenced a Sudanese, Guma Ismail Mahdi Abdalla, to two years imprisonment for trafficking in hard drug.

The foreigner was send to prison by Justice Saidu after he pleaded guilty of a one count charge of trafficking in 1.44 kilograms of Methamphetamine brought against him by the the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The NDLEA prosecutor, Ali Ibrahim had told the court that the convict was arrested with the banned powdery substance on June 24, 2019, at Gate ‘A’ of the departure hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, during an outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopia Airline Flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ibrahim also informed the court that the substance is one of the Psychotropic Substances under International Control.

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He insisted that the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 11(b) of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The convict who did not have any legal representation, pleaded guilty to the charge.

Following his guilty plea, the prosecutor, Ibrahim urged the court to cconvict him as charged.

Upon the submission of the prosecutor, the convict, in his allocutor, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy.

He told the court that he is a first time offender and have no relations in Nigeria.

The convict, therefore, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy.

Following the plea for mercy made by the convict and the confirmation by the prosecutor that he is a first time offender, Justice Saidu sentenced him to two years imprisonment

Justice Saidu also ordered that the drug seized from the convict be destroyed by the NDLEA if there is no appeal against the judgement.

The Charge against the convict reads: “That you Guma Ismail Mahdi Abdalla, Sudanese, Male, Adult, on or about the 24th June, 2019 at Gate ‘A’ of the Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos at the check in counter, during the outward clearance of Passengers on Ethiopian Airlines Flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia without Lawful Authority Exported 1.44 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine, a Psychotropic Substance, under International Control and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 11(b) of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.