Court jails nine Ghanaians for attempting to smuggle cannabis into Nigeria

The federal high court in Lagos has reportedly sentenced nine Ghanaians to eight years imprisonment each for “attempting” to smuggle cannabis into Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the convicts — identified as Victor Wuddah, Freeman Gazul, Adotete Joseph, Sottie Moses, Sottie Stephen, Christian Tette, Kanu Okonipa, Daniel Koyepti. and Kanu Natte — were sentenced on Friday.

According to him, the convicts had attempted to smuggle 10,843.95 kilogrammes of cannabis into Nigeria “through the sea”.

“They were initially arrested by men of the Civil Defence Corps and transferred to NDLEA for further investigation and prosecution,” the statement reads.

“At the conclusion of investigations, they were arraigned in charge number FHC/L/292C/2021.

“Delivering his ruling in the matter on Friday, Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos, convicted the Ghanaians of conspiracy and dealing in cannabis.”

Babafemi said the operatives of the NDLEA also made several arrests in raids across the country.

He said the states included Yobe, Ondo, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos and the federal capital territory (FCT).

In the FCT, Babafemi said operatives, on Saturday, raided a “large cannabis warehouse” in Chukuku, which is about 10 kilometres away from Gwagwalada, and arrested one Saadatu Abdullahi, a 35-year-old nursing mother, who was alleged to be in charge of the facility.

He said “510 jumbo bags of the illicit substance weighing 5, 640kgs” were recovered from the store.

The NDLEA spokesperson also said operatives intercepted 48kgs of cannabis in Buni Yadi, Yobe state, and also busted a location where they recovered 56 blocks (31kgs) of Potiskum from two suspects — Mohammed Mamuda and Hauwa Haruna, a pregnant woman.

In Ondo, Babafemi said 99 bags of cannabis and “three bags of its seeds weighing 1,286kgs” were seized on Thursday when operatives raided a location in the Ogbese area of the state.