Akin Kuponiyi
A federal high court sitting in Lagos south west Nigeria today sentenced a 40 year- old man Sule Ibrahim to life imprisonment, for unlawfully dealing in 11.8 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
Prosecuting counsel for the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency, Jeremiah I. Aernan, claimed that Sule Ibrahim on or about 9th of November,2012 at Mapo Alayo Village,Okun Ajah, in Lagos, dealt in 11.8 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
The NDLEA prosecutor claimed the cannabis is a narcotic drug similar to cocaine,heroin and LSD.
When the convict was first arraigned before the court on 1 March,2013 he pleaded not guilty. But 13 months after, on 30 April, 2014, he pleaded guilty.
On the 7 July, Mr Aernan while reviewing the fact of the case tendered the confessional statement of the convict, forensic report showing that the substance found on the convict was Cannabis sativa, weighing 11.8 kilogrammes.
Before Ibrahim was sentenced his counsel Mrs Oreofe Ogunleye urged the court to temper justice with mercy as the convict was a first offender.
The presiding judge, Ofili Ajumogobia, did not heed the mitigation plea, as she sentenced the convict to life imprisonment.