A 31-year-old bricklayer, Rasheed Bolaji, has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos for the sale of cannabis (weed) at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre.
He was found guilty of two counts of trafficking and unlawful dealing in 5.3 kg of Indian hemp and was convicted on Friday by Justice Abimbola Awogboro.
News About Nigeria gathered that The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned Bolaji before the court after he was arrested in the prison premises selling the illegal product to inmates.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charges.
During the court proceedings, the prosecution counsel, M. I. Erondu, reviewed the facts after Bolaji’s guilty plea and told the court that the convict was arrested with the banned substance on December 2, 2022, at the Ikoyi Centre of the Correctional Service in Lagos, while in the act.
She stated that the offense committed was contrary to and punishable under Sections 11(b) and 11(c) of the NDLEA Act Cap N 30 LFN 2004.
Erondu urged the court to sentence the convict according to Sections 274(2) and 375 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015.
Bolaji, however, begged for mercy and promised not to engage in any crime if given a second chance.
The defense counsel, Bolanle Kolawole, told the court that her client was a bricklayer who “smoked” the Indian hemp for energy while carrying out his duties.
She pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing him and also begged the court to award an option of a fine instead of a custodial sentence.
Delivering judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment without an option of a fine.
In separate news, Nigerian media personality, Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, popularly known as Nedu, has issued a public apology to Nigerians for his recent comment about the institution of marriage, which sparked controversy on social media.
