The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a 41-year-old Canadian lady, Adrienne Munju, to 11 years imprisonment for importing 35.20 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud (Cannabis Sativa) into Nigeria.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu who handed down the verdict also gave her an option of N100m fine on the two counts preferred against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The judge convicted and sentenced Munju following her plea of guilt on the two counts.
Earlier when the convict was arraigned, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Munju without lawful authority imported 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa, otherwise known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria.
Ibrahim said the incident occurred on or about October 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of inbound passengers on the KLM flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Section 20(1), (a) and punishable under Section 20(2) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, Munju pleaded guilty to the charges against her.
Following her guilty plea, Ibrahim informed the court of the readiness of the prosecution to review the facts of the case and a prosecution witness was called in to give evidence and tender relevant exhibits.
The prosecutor after reviewing the facts of the case urged the court to convict Munju, as charged, based on the evidence placed before the court, and the exhibits tendered and her guilty plea.
Justice Dipeolu, on reviewing the facts of the case as submitted by Ibrahim, convicted Munju as charged.
In his allocutus before the court, the counsel for Munju, Benson Ndakara, leading Dennis Warri, Kate Igbo and others pleaded with the court to have mercy on the convict.
“We plead for leniency on behalf of the convict, my Lord.
The convict pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity by not wasting the precious time of the court and has been very remorseful,” he said.
Ndakara added that the convict had vowed never to toe the path of criminality again and to be more careful in the future if given a second chance.
Speaking on the aggravating factor leading to the crime, Ndakara said the convict was deceived into taking the high risk and urged the court to be lenient in sentencing her.
The convict’s counsel also pleaded with the court to impose an option of fine on the convict instead of the custodian sentence, adding that the convict had no relatives or acquaintances in Nigeria and had been abandoned by everyone.
After listening to the defence counsel’s allocutus, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two or an option of N50m fine on each count.
Justice Dipeolu, however, ordered that both sentence and option of fine shall run concurrently.
Munju was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA, on October 3, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for importing a large consignment of a strong strain of synthetic cannabis called ‘Canadian Loud’.
The convict was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on a KLM airline flight from Canada at Terminal 1 of the Lagos airport.
According to information from the anti-narcotic agency, “During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne, who was in Nigeria for the first time, was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilogrammes, stuffed in two of her three bags.
“In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos.
“She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing Master’s degree programme in Canada.”
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.