For importing 13-container-loads of arms and ammunition into Nigeria without a licence, an Iranian, Azim Aghajani, and his Nigerian accomplice, Ali Jega, will spend 17 years in jail.
Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday found them guilty of four of the five counts of illegal importation of the arms.
He sentenced them to five years imprisonment on the first count, two years on the third count and five years each on the fourth and fifth counts.
The jail terms will run concurrently, beginning from February 1, 2011, when they were first arraigned.
The judge ordered that the arms and ammunition be forfeited to the Federal Government.
He refused to grant a request that the Iranian be deported to serve his prison term in his country.
Justice Okeke, however, discharged and acquitted the accused on the second count, in which they were charged with being “in control” of the arms, having imported them without a licence.
The judge said the convicts had not taken “constructive possession” of the arms when they were arrested. He averred that there was no evidence before him that they paid the Custom duties and cleared the goods from the port.
“On the second count, the accused are not guilty. They are hereby discharged and acquitted,” Justice Okeke held.
On the remaining counts, the judge said the prosecution proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt.
He said he was further convinced after visiting the locu in quo (where the arms were kept to see them by himself).
Justice Okeke remarked jovially that he was fortunate to have come out of the visit alive.
He said: “We went for the visit of the locus in quo and we survived it. There was no explosion!”
He added that it was the prosecution and defence counsel on the team who were “dragging their feet” for fear of explosion during visit.
The accused were re-arraigned on March 7, 2011 on an amended charge of importation of prohibited firearms without licence, reckless and false declaration of the consignment’s content and concealment.
The prosecution said between June and October 2010, they were “in control of bombs and grenade without licence”.
The ammunition is categorised as prohibited firearms under Item 4 of Part 1 of the Schedule to the Firearms Act, Cap F28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and contrary to Section 3 of the 1999 Constitution.
