Justice Daniel Osiagor of a Federal High Court, Lagos, today, convicted and sentenced a 20 year-old Parker Darren Hezekiah Osei, to five years imprisonment for trafficking in 19.40 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a special strain of Cannabis Sativa, popularly called marijuana.
The convict, a Computer Science student at East London University in the United Kingdom, was given the jail-term after pleaded to the charge leveled against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Prior to the convict’s conviction, the prosecutor, Barrister (Mrs) Bibiana Anagu, who held the brief of Barrister Ibraham Abu, told the court the he was arrested with the prohibited drug on April 3, 2025, during the inward clearance of Passengers of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok to Lagos, via Addis Ababa at the E-Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International, Ikeja Lagos.
The prosecutor told that the convict’s contravened section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, L of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and punishable under the same Act.
The convicted student admitted committing the offence and pleaded guilty to the charge.
Upon his guilty plea, the prosecutor after reviewing the facts of the case and tendered all the exhibits in the matter, and urged to convict and sentence him in accordance with the section of the NDLEA Act, he was charged with.
But the convict’s lawyer. Chief Benson Ndakara, who led Mrs. Kate Igbo, in his allucutor, pleaded with the court to be merciful on his client.
Ndakara while citing plethoras of authorites and listed some mitigating factor, which he claimed were in his client’s favour, urged the court to consider a non-custodian sentence for his client.
The presiding judge, after listening to the counsel’s allucutor and confirmed from the prosecutor that the convict is a first time offender, sentenced him to five years imprisonment.
The judge however ordered the convict to pay N1 million, in lieu of the jail-term.
The convict’s charge reads: “That you Parker Darren Hezekiah Osei, Male, Adult, a British Citizen, on or about 3rd April, 2025 during the inward clearance of Passengers of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok to Lagos via Addis Ababa at the E-Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos without Lawful Authority in 19.40 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, a Narcotic Drug similar to Cocaine, LSD, He and you thereby committed an act which an offence contrary to and punishable under section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
