Okada riders jailed six months for possessing hemp, codeine, tramadol

A Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday sentenced three commercial motorcyclists to six months imprisonment each, for possessing of hemp, codeine and tramadol.

The convicts, Auwal Sani, 18; Nasiru Sani, 25; and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 25, are residents of Trademore Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.

They were sentenced following their guilty plea to the offences as charged by the police.

The court, however, gave each of the convicts an option of N25,000 fine.

Magistrate Huzaifa Maccido said, “The defendants, having listened to the information contained in the First Information Report by the police and pleaded guilty, will be tried summarily.

“The defendants are sentenced to six months’ imprisonment each or have an option to pay a fine of N25,000.”

Our correspondent reports that the convicts were arraigned on July 26, but the magistrate reserved judgment until Tuesday.

The prosecutor, Mayowa Adefioye, had told the court that the convicts were arrested on July 25 by a team of police officers on routine patrol on Trademore Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.

Adefioye said that when searches were carried out on them, 32 wraps of weeds suspected to be hemp, 10 bottles of codeine and two tablets of tramadol were found on the commercial motorcyclists.

He said that they were brought to court on a count charge of causing nuisance, contrary to the provisions of Section 198 of the Penal Code.