By Bolaji Rasheed, a 31-year-old bricklayer, was found guilty and given a two-year prison sentence by Judge Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos for selling Cannabis Sativa, popularly known as Indian Hemp, in the Ikoyi detention facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS).
Rasheed was sentenced to prison by Justice Awogboro after entering a plea to a two-count charge brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for trafficking and illegally dealing in 5.3 kilograms of Indian hemp (NDLEA).
After examining the case’s facts, the prosecution, Mrs. Monica Erondu, had told the judge that the defendant was taken into custody on December 2, 2022, while selling illegal marijuana at the Ikoyi Center of the Nigerian Prisons Service in Lagos.
Bolaji Rasheed, a 31-year-old bricklayer, was found guilty and given a two-year prison sentence by Judge Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos for selling Cannabis Sativa, popularly known as Indian Hemp, in the Ikoyi detention facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS).
Rasheed was sentenced to prison by Justice Awogboro after entering a plea to a two-count charge brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for trafficking and illegally dealing in 5.3 kilograms of Indian hemp (NDLEA).
After examining the case’s facts, the prosecution, Mrs. Monica Erondu, had told the judge that the defendant was taken into custody on December 2, 2022, while selling illegal marijuana at the Ikoyi Center of the Nigerian Prisons Service in Lagos.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N 30 LFN 2004, Sections 11(b) and 11(c), according to Erondu, violates and criminalizes the offense.
As a result, she requested that the court sentence the guilty party in line with sections 274(2) and 375 of the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Yet, the prisoner stated that this was his first time selling illegal marijuana while appealing for compassion. In addition, he pledged that, if granted another chance by the court, he would not commit any crimes.
Bolanle Kolawole, the defense attorney, informed the jury that her client was a bricklayer who “smoked” Indian hemp to stay awake while working.
She begged with the judge to balance justice and mercy when passing judgment on him, and she also urged the judge to give the option of a fine instead of a jail sentence.
In her ruling, Judge Awogboro sentenced the defendant to two years in jail without the possibility of a fee because she believed that the penalty would dissuade other people from engaging in similar behavior or deciding to commit crimes in the future.
