Court Sentences 29 Years Old Drug Dealer To Life Imprisonment

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 29-year-old drug dealer, Abiodun Elemoro, to life imprisonment.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia pronounced the sentence on Thursday after Elemoro had pleaded guilty to dealing in 30.5 grammes of Heroin.

The convict was brought before the court on April 26, 2014 by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on the allegation that he was caught in possession of the illicit substance without lawful authority.

Elemoro, who appeared in court without any legal representation, had promptly confessed to committing the crime and pleaded for mercy.

In his confession before Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, the father of a nine-month-old girl, told the court that prior to his arrest on April 24 last year, he operated on Palm Church Street on Lagos Island, where he used to dispense the hard drug to end users.

He added that the business fetched him between ₦3,000 and ₦5,000 daily.

However, the prosecutor, Mr. Orji Kalu, told the court that Elemoro, by his act, had put himself at variance with Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He therefore urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

Consequently, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia convicted Elemoro on the strength of his confessional statement and the evidence tendered by the prosecution.

While handing down the life imprisonment, the court said it had noted that Elemoro was well advanced in the crime and would constitute a negative influence on the society, particularly his nine-month-old baby, if pardoned.

The judge ordered the NDLEA to destroy the hard substance if there was no appeal against the judgment within 30 days.

In a related development, one Umeh Henry also confessed to Justice Mohammed Idris of the same Court that he was into drug trafficking.

Henry was brought to court on Thursday by operatives of the NDLEA on the allegation that he trafficked 15g of cocaine.

The NDLEA prosecutor, Mr. Vembe Emmanuel, said, "The accused was arrested on October 6, 2014, during the inward clearance of the Emirate Airlines from Brazil via Dubai at the E-arrival hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos."

Henry, whose wife and little baby were also in court on Thursday, promptly pleaded guilty to the crime.

The court adjourned till February 4, 2015 for a review of his case, when he may likely know his fate.

In the same vein, another man, Obijiofor Jones, also appeared before Justice Idris on Thursday for allegedly trafficking 1.82 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine.

According to his prosecutor, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, Jones was arrested on May 31, 2014 during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Malaysia at the screening point of the MMA.