The Federal High Court in Enugu on Thursday sentenced three first-time drug offenders to eight months’ imprisonment each after they pleaded guilty to separate charges of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
Justice M.T. Segun-Bello handed down the sentences after considering the convicts’ guilty pleas, their status as first-time offenders, the non-commercial quantities of the drugs recovered from them, and the absence of aggravating factors.
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The judge said the sentences were intended to reform the convicts rather than serve as purely punitive measures, urging them to embrace lawful conduct after serving their terms.
The first convict, Ogbonna Dike, 30, was arraigned on a two-count charge of unlawful possession of 0.92 grammes of methamphetamine and 60 grammes of cannabis sativa.
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The prosecution counsel, Orji Kalu, told the court that operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested Mr Dike at Okpanku in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State on 5 April.
Following his guilty plea, the judge convicted him under the relevant provisions of the NDLEA Act and sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment without an option of a fine.
Justice Segun-Bello directed that the period already spent in custody should be taken into account in computing his sentence.
In a separate case, Onyinyechi Ugwueze, 30, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of 5.1 grammes of methamphetamine after her arrest by NDLEA operatives in Nsukka, Enugu State.
The court held that Ms Ugwueze was a first-time offender and that the quantity of the drug recovered from her was a non-commercial quantity.
She was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.
N.E. Nnabueze prosecuted the case on behalf of the NDLEA.
Also convicted was Mmesoma Calista Nnajiuba, 22, who pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of 355 grammes of cannabis sativa.
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Ms Nnajiuba was arrested at Monastery Road, Amorji Nike, in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Justice Segun-Bello found that she was a first-time offender, that the quantity of cannabis recovered from her was non-commercial, and that no aggravating circumstances existed.
The court sentenced her to eight months’ imprisonment with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that counsel represented none of the defendants.
In her remarks, Justice Segun-Bello said the court adopted a reformative approach to sentencing because the defendants were first-time offenders who admitted their offences and demonstrated the prospect of rehabilitation.
She warned them against returning to drug-related activities, stressing that future violations of the law could attract far stiffer penalties.
The convictions were entered under the relevant provisions of the NDLEA Act after the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
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