Court sentences man to 1 year imprisonment for trafficking 400g of hemp

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 30-year-old man, Hamma Yusuf , to one year imprisonment, for peddling 400g of Cannabis Sativa, also known as hemp.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned Yusuf on one count of drug trafficking.

Yusuf pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.

Delivering judgment, Justice Maureen Onyetenu, held that Yusuf ‘s sentence would begin from Aug. 24 when he was arrested.

The NDLEA Counsel, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, reviewed the facts of the case before the court and tendered some exhibits.

The exhibits included a written statement of the defendant, a drug analysis form, a request for scientific aid form, and remnant of the narcotics.

The court admitted the evidences and marked them as exhibits, accordingly.

Aernan urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant based on his plea and the evidences adduced by prosecution.

According to the charge, the convict was arrested on a tip off in Mushin in Lagos, while selling cannabis weighing 400g .

According to the NDLEA, cannabis is a narcotic drug similar to Cocaine, Heroin and LSD and trafficking in same contravenes the provisions of Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation, 2004.