Lagos court jails businessman for drug trafficking

A 28-year-old businessman named Peter Ugwu was given a three-year prison sentence by a Federal High Court in Lagos for trafficking in 7.50 kg of narcotics. 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) re-arrested the convicted person on an upgraded nine-count drug trafficking allegation. 

On December 5, 2023, he was first arraigned and entered a not guilty plea to the accusation. 

But later on, the defendant decided to enter a guilty plea, and on January 19, he was re-arrested. After the prosecution modified the charge, he was re-arrested on June 6 and entered a guilty plea once more.

After he entered his plea, the prosecutor, Mrs. Juliana Iroabuchi, went over the case's facts with witness Angela Mba and presented eighteen evidence to bolster the prosecution's case. Then, in light of the defendant's plea and the prosecution's evidence, she urged the court to find the defendant guilty. 

Justice Ambrose Allagoa found the defendant guilty of the offence and found him to be guilty as charged in his decision. 

The prisoner was sentenced to three years in jail for each count by the court following a request for leniency made by his attorney, Mr. Dennis Wari.

The terms will run concurrently, the court said. Additionally, the court mandated that the drugs that the NDLEA had taken from the prisoner be destroyed.

Source