Crime

NURTW Member and Two Others Receive Two-Year Prison Sentence for Drug Trafficking

Written by Jerry Alomatu on May 17, 2024

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A driver named Tapha Mustapha, aged 45 and affiliated with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), along with two accomplices, was handed a two-year jail term on Thursday for involvement in drug trafficking. Andrew Ukelere and Anthony Chiemerem were convicted along side.

The trio had been brought before the court by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on April 27, 2024, facing charges related to conspiracy and trafficking in 13.9 kilograms of tramadol and 590 litres of Pentazocine, a psychotropic substance akin to cocaine.

According to the prosecutor, Mariam I. Erondu, represented by Julian Negedu, the trio was apprehended with the illicit substances on March 19, 2024, in the vicinity of the Long Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Lagos State.

The charges leveled against them violated Sections 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N 30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and carried penalties outlined in the same Act.

Pleading guilty to the charges, the trio awaited their sentence. Justice Kehinde Ogundare presided over the case and ordered their remand at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.

During a subsequent hearing for the review of facts, the prosecutor presented Mr. Benjamin Naetah, a Senior Exhibits Keeper with the agency, who submitted the drugs and related evidence, all of which were admitted by the court.

Upon completion of the review, the prosecutor urged the court to proceed with conviction and sentencing in line with the NDLEA Act provisions.

However, the defense counsels, Lilian Omotunde and Ore-Ofe Ogunleye, pleaded for leniency on behalf of their clients, citing their lack of prior convictions and cooperation with the legal process.

Omotunde, representing the first and second convicts, emphasized their roles and circumstances, appealing for a non-custodial sentence.

Similarly, Ogunleye, counsel for the third convict, advocated for a non-custodial sentence under Section 426(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

In response, the prosecutor highlighted the severity of the drug trafficking offense and its potential harm to society, urging the court to consider the quantity of drugs seized.

In his ruling, Justice Ogundare sentenced the first and second convicts to two years in prison, while the third convict received a one-year sentence. Additionally, fines of N500,000 each were imposed on the first and second convicts, with the third convict ordered to pay N100,000 in lieu of imprisonment.