A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday convicted and sentenced one Ifenna Emmanuel, a businessman, to 20 years imprisonment for attempting to export 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine to China.
DAILY POST learnt that the convict was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on July 1, 2012 during outward clearance of passengers to China by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA who brought the charge against him.
The prosecutor, Oigoga Ichakpa, had told the court that the offence was contrary to Section 11 (b) of the NDLEA Act of 2004.
According to him, after the convict was arraigned on December 18, 2012; he jumped bail and refused to attend trial for about a year until he was re-arrested in Port Harcourt through the help of his brother who stood surety for him.
In his judgement, Justice John Tsoho handed down the sentence after founding Emmanuel guilty on a one-count charge of possession of hard drugs.
Tsoho, however, ordered that the $1,000 recovered from the convict be forfeited to the Federal Government, should there be no appeal against the judgment within 90 days.
The judge further directed that Emmanuel’s passport should be withdrawn while all drugs recovered from him must be destroyed, again “if the judgment is not appealed against.”
Meanwhile, the court faulted a medical report tendered by the convict’s counsel, to show that the convict was seriously ill and was suffering from severe abdominal pain.
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