Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday convicted and sentence a drug trafficker Okeke Ebuka Igwe to seven years imprisonment or a fine of N5 million in lieu of imprisonment for procuring one Nwez Okechukwu to export 1.10 kilograms of Cocaine.
JUstice Daniel Osiagor yesterday imposed the the sentence following the the guilty plea of Igwe to the one count charge filed against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA ,
When the matter came up for trial yesterday, the prosecutor Mr Abu Ibrahim informed the court of a pending charge before the court and urged the judge to order that that the charge be read so that the defendant can take his plea.
The charge was then read and the defendant pleaded guilty to same.
Consequent upon the guilty plea of the defendant, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict the defendant as charged in view of the evidence adduced by the prosecution and the exhibits tendered.
The trial judge after listening to the submission of the prosecutor, convicted Okeke Ebuka Igwe as charged.
Following the conviction Igwe, his counsel, Dennis Warri from the Chambers of Benson Ndakara & Co made allocutus on his behalf.
In his allocutus, Warri pleaded for liniency on behalf of Igwe, adding that he is a first time offender who did not waste the precious time of the court before pleading guilty to the charge.
Warri added that the timely plea of guilt is a sign that the defendant is remorseful.
He urged the court to impose an option of fine rather than custodian sentence.
Justice Osiagor after listening to Dennis Warri sentence Okeke Ebuka Igwe to seven years imprisonment or N5 million fine .
The charge against the convict reads:
That you Okeke Ebuka Igwe Male, Adult on or about the 21st day of February 2025 at Auto Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA) Trade Fair Internation. Complex premises, along Badagry Expressway, Lagos procured one Nwez Okechukwu of ALL BEST CARGO to export 1.10 kilograms of Cocaine a Narcotic Drug, concealed in Auto Parts, and you thereby committed an act which is a offence contrary to section 21 (2) (d) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under section 11(b) of the said Act.
