By Francis IWUCHUKWU
For dealing in 1.55 kg of Cocaine, a Greece bound Nigerian passenger, Nnaeto Christian Ifeanyi was on Thursday convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The court presided over by Justice Daniel Osiagor decided after the convict decided to change his plea from not guilty to guilty during his re-arraignment before the court.
At the resumed trial yesterday, the defence counsel, Dennis Warri told the trial judge that Ifeanyi informed him of his decision to change his plea.
Following the development, the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim urged the court to allow the charge to be read to the convict upon which the defendant pleaded guilty.
Consequent upon his guilty plea position, the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim urged the court to allow him to review the fact of the case during which he tendered all exhibits to prove his case.
He, therefore, urged the court to convict the defendant based on the evidence before the court and the admittance of guilt by the defendant.
This led Justice Osiagor to convict Ifeanyi as charged.
In his plea before the court, the convict’s lawyer, Dennis Warri urged the judge to temper justice with mercy, adding that the convict is a first time offender who did not waste the precious time of the court.
Warri further stated that the convict has learnt his lesson and that if given another opportunity, he will not go back into crime again. He, therefore, urged the court for leniency for the convict.
Justice Osiagor while sentencing the convict, said that based on the evidence before the court and the admittance of guilt by the convict, he is satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
He, therefore, sentence him to seven years Imprisonment effective from August 27, 2021, when he was arrested.
It would be recalled that the convict was arrested on August 27, 2021, by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, during the outward clearance of intending passengers of Turkish Airlines Flight to Athens, Greece at the Gate C of the Departure Hall of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos with 1.55 kilograms of cocaine.
The one-count charge reads: That you, Nnaeto Christian Ifeanyi, Male, Adult on or about the 27 of August 2021, during the outward clearance of intending passengers of Turkish Airline Flight in Athens, Greece at the Gate C of the Departure Hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, without lawful authority exported 1.55 Kilograms of Cocaine, a Narcotic drug, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 11 (b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Act Cap N40 of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
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