A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday sentenced a 23-year-old man, Opeyemi Gafar, to 18 months imprisonment for peddling 100g of Cannabis Sativa (hemp).
Gafar was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) before Justice Chuka Obiozor on a count charge of drug trafficking.
He pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court reviewed the facts of the case during which the prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, tendered some documents in evidence.
The documents included a written statement of Gafar, a drug analysis form, a request for scientific aid form and a remnant of the banned substance.
The court admitted them in evidence and marked them as exhibits.
The prosecutor then urged the court to convict and sentence Gafar based on his plea and evidence before the court.
The court consequently convicted him.
The judge held that Gafar’s sentence should take effect from the date of his arrest.
Obiozor gave the convict an option of N50, 000 fine.
According to the NDLEA, Gafar was arrested on Aug. 25 while selling the banned substance at Abijan Bus Stop in Ajah, Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Cannabis Sativa is listed as prohibited in the NDLEA Schedule.
Trafficking in the substance contravenes the provisions of Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act of 2004.
