Owolabi Oluwayemisi has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment for trafficking in cocaine. The 56-year-old mother of 4 was convicted after she had pleaded guilty to the one count charge preferred against her by the National Drug laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Tthe charge marked FHC/L/301c/17, the convict was arrested on May 19, 2017, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight to Saudi Arabia, with 330 grammes of Cocaine, a narcotic drug.
The NDLEA prosecutor, while reviewing the fact of the case, tendered the convict’s harmonized ECOWAS passport with number: 1808098653, an E-ticket and boarding pass as evidence.
The convict, in her plea for leniency through her lawyer, Morenike Ogunleye, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing her, uring that she is single handedly raising her four kids.
“In sentencing her, I urged my lord to consider section 416(2)(b)(d) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015”.
However,Justice Aikawa pronounced: “I have listened to the plea made on her behalf by the counsel, and also listened to the prosecutor that she has no record of crime.
“In balancing, I have to consider both her plea and what the law says about the crime. Consequently, I hereby sentence her to 10 years imprisonment, starting from the day of her arrest”.
The offence, committed by the convict is contrary to and punishable under section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.