Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, September 17, sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann to 25 years in prison for smuggling 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Egwuatu passed the sentence, stressing that Nigerian law does not respect emotions.
The NDLEA, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, had revealed that Ann was arrested in July while travelling with her three-year-old son. She was arrested during an inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433, arriving from Doha. In August, she was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into the country on July 6.
Delivering judgment today, Justice Egwuatu held that prior to her guilty plea, the defendant had admitted to committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement.
The judge said that the law is settled that a conviction follows a plea of guilty. The judge consequently convicted her of the offence.
Following her conviction, the prosecution urged the court to factor in the cost of 1 kg of heroin, which is worth about N18 million, in sentencing her. Ann, however, begged the court to temper justice with mercy and promised never to engage in such an act again.
She also said she was remorseful and did not know there were illicit drugs in the bag.
After hearing from the parties and considering the defendant’s plea for leniency, the judge said, “Crime does not pay” and that the law is not influenced by “emotions”.
The judge consequently sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on Count 1 and 25 years’ imprisonment on Count 2 and ordered that the sentencing shall run concurrently.
The judge also ruled that if the convict does not appeal within the prescribed period allowed by law, the heroin should be destroyed.
