Justice Jude Dagat of a Federal High Court, Lagos has sentenced a trader, Mrs. Ezeano Deborah Ifeoma, to five years imprisonment for trafficking in hard drugs known as Methamphetamine.

The judge sentenced her after she was found guilty of one count charge of trafficking in 5 kilograms of Methamphetamine.

The convict, according to the prosecuting agency, the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was arrested at his Otto shop sometimes in November 2014, after the Customs License agent, whom she gave the ‘consignment’ to for onward export to South Africa.

She was arrested and later arraigned on December 22, 2014, on the charge bordering on unlawful export of the said substance.

The charge reads: “that you Ezeano Deborah Ifeoma, Female, Adult on or about the 12th day of November 2014 at Sahcol Cargo export shed of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without lawful authority exported 5.0 Kilogrammes of Methamphetamine, a narcotic drug Similar to Cocaine, Heroin or LSD and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation 2004”.

She had pleaded not guilty to the charge and admitted was to bail in various terms.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Ichakpa Oigoga, called seven witnesses who include the arresting officer, investigating officer, forensic analyst, and some others, as well tendered the seized drug, the result of laboratory test of the drug and others.

But the convict only testified for herself.

However, while delivering judgment, the judge held that prosecution proved the charge against the trader beyond every reasonable doubt and pronounced the convict guilty as charged.

Justice Dagat also held that the defence put up by the convict was not enough to absolve her of the charge.

Counsel to the convict, Mr. E. U. Okenyi, in his allocutor, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client and urged the judge not to award the prescribed and maximum sentence to be lenient to the convict.

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