The Nation Newspaper

Tag: National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)

  • 24-year-old jailed for selling hemp

    24-year-old jailed for selling hemp

    The Federal High Court in Lagos Tuesday sentenced a 24-year-old man, Abiodun Ayinla, to three years imprisonment for dealing in Indian Hemp.

    Ayinla was charged by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on one count of drug trafficking.

    The prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, said the convict unlawfully trafficked 650 grammes of Cannabis Sativa (Indian hemp) on May 5 at a dumping site beside Aturase Estate in Gbagada, Lagos.

    Ayinla pleaded guilty to the offence which contravenes Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation, 2004.

    The prosecutor tendered the convict’s statement, a request for scientific aid form, a drug analysis form and the cannabis sativa seized from Ayinla.

    Justice Babs Kuewumi found the accused guilty as charged.

    The three-year is to begin from the date of arrest.

     

  • Drug trafficker jailed three years in Lagos

    Drug trafficker jailed three years in Lagos

    A 24-year-old man, Abiodun Ayinla, who peddled 650 grammes of Cannabis Sativa (hemp), is to spend the next three years behind bars, a Federal High Court ruled in Lagos on Tuesday.

    Ayinla was arraigned on a charge of drug trafficking by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). He had pleaded guilty to the charge.

    Delivering his judgement, Justice Babs Kuewumi said the court had found the accused guilty as charged.

    He, accordingly, sentenced him to a three-year jail term beginning from the date of his arrest.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Jeremiah Aernan, had told the court that the accused unlawfully trafficked 650 grammes of Cannabis Sativa (hemp) on May 5 at a dumpsite beside Atunrase Estate in Gbagada Lagos.

    Ayinla was immediately arrested and detained, he said.

    In proving that the accused was guilty of the offence, Aernan tendered a written statement by the accused, a request for scientific aid form and a drug analysis form.

    Aernan also tendered the remnants of the narcotics before the court as evidence and were admitted by the court and marked as exhibits.

    The offence of drug trafficking contravenes the provisions of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

  • Court remands three in prison for drug trafficking

    Court remands three in prison for drug trafficking

    Justice Joyce Abdulmaleek of the Federal High Court Ibadan, on Tuesday ordered that three suspects be remanded in prison custody for allegedly trafficking cocaine and Indian hemp.

    The suspected drug traffickers, Ramoni Ademuyiwa, Taiwo Lawal and Sadiq Aliyu, all adults, were separately arraigned before the court.

    Ademuyiwa pleaded not guilty to the charge while Lawal and Aliyu pleaded guilty.

    Abdulmaleek ordered that the trio be remanded in prison custody till commencement of trial on June 15.

    Mr Raphael Himinkaiye, counsel to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo State Command, said the suspects were arraigned on one-count charge bordering on unlawful dealing in hard drug.

    He said that Ademuyiwa, Lawal and Aliyu separately committed the crime on April 12, 18 and 25 respectively at various spots in Ibadan.

    He said that the first defendant was arrested with 6.3kg of cocaine concealed in a sack at Bere while the second defendant was arrested with a bag containing two kilograms of Indian hemp at Sarki market.

    According to him, the third defendant was arrested with a bag containing 430 grams of Indian hemp on the Lagos-Ibadan express way.

    The NDLEA counsel said the offence is punishable under Section 11(C) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

  • Motorcyclist gets six months jail term for drug possession

    The Federal High Court, Abuja on sentenced one Henry Sunday to six months in prison for being in possession of 250 grammes of Cannabis Sativa, commonly known as Indian Hemp.

    Sunday was arrested in last February by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    He had pleaded guilty to the offence when he was arraigned before Justice Abdul Kafarati in March.

    Upon review of the facts of the case on Monday, the judge pronounced him guilty as charged and sentenced him to six months in prison.

    He said the sentence was to commence from the day Sunday was arrested.

    Kafarati said that the sentence was in view of the quantity of the drugs found on the convict.

    Sunday, who told court that he was married with two children, pleaded with the judge to temper justice with mercy in his sentencing.

    He said that he regretted his action, pleading that he would never involve himself in drugs again.

    The Prosecutor, Mr Mike Kassa, had urged the court to, in view of the defendant’s guilty plea, convict him as charge.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Kassa had previously told court that the amount of hard drugs being peddled on the streets of Abuja was alarming.

    He urged the court to give sentences to convicts that would serve as deterrent to other people planning to commit similar offences.

  • NDLEA arraigns two Brazilians over importation of Cocaine

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday charged two Brazilians before a Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged cocaine trafficking.

    The accused, Lima Diego and Dias Christina, were arraigned before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun on three counts of importing 23.9 kg of cocaine.

    The prosecution said that they conspired with Ben Abiodun and others who are now at large to import the narcotic drug.

    According to the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, on April 18, Diego imported 14.5 kg of cocaine without lawful authority.

    He said that the narcotic was found during the inward clearance of passengers on board an Emirates Airlines flight from Brazil, en-route Dubia to Lagos.

    Christina was accused of importing 9.40 kg of cocaine on April 18.

    She was caught during inward clearance of passengers on Emirates Airlines flight from Brazil en-route Dubai to Lagos, without lawful authority.

    The alleged offence are said to have contravened the provisions of Section 11 (a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

    The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The court ordered their remand in prison pending the hearing of their bail and adjourned the case until May 15.

     

  • NDLEA arrests 51 suspects, seize drugs in Oyo

    NDLEA arrests 51 suspects, seize drugs in Oyo

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo state command, said it arrested 51 suspected drug traffickers and addicts from January to date.

    A statement by the state command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mrs Mutiat Okuwobi, on Sunday in Ibadan, disclosed that 1,933.28 kg of drugs were also seized during the period.

    The PRO added that the agency also got the conviction of 17 drug traffickers with jail terms ranging from six months to five years in the period under review.

    She said interventions were also given to some drug dependants persons through counselling after which they were reintegrated into the society.

    The PRO said some drug users were still undergoing rehabilitation.

    She said that the command would continue to do its best to frustrate the activities of drug peddlers in the state.

     

  • NDLEA arrests 9 suspects, seizes 1,020.1kgs of Indian hemp in Kogi

    NDLEA arrests 9 suspects, seizes 1,020.1kgs of Indian hemp in Kogi

    The Kogi Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested nine suspected hard drug peddlers and dealers in the last four weeks.

    The Commandant, Mr Idris Bello, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lokoja that the command also seized 1,020.1 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa (Indian hemp) from the suspects.

    Giving a breakdown of the arrests, Bello said that four suspects were arrested on Tuesday at Crusher Village along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja.

    “One of those arrested, Maharazu Mohammedhad, had 147 blocks of packed Indian hemp, weighing 199.2 kilogrammes, hidden in sheets of rough cartons.

    “From Mohammed’s account, the consignment was to be delivered to one Dan Hutu of Hotoro quarters in Kano,” he said.

    He said that another suspect, Philip Dangla, 32, who hails from Plateau, had 37.2 kilogrammes of the substance which he was taking to Zaria.

    According to him, the driver of the vehicle, Sanusi Sani and the conductor, Abdullahi Mohammed, were equally arrested.

    Bello further said that another suspect, Stanley Duru, 44, from Orlu in Imo, was arrested on March 20, with 421 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 377.8 kilogrammes.

    The commandant said that the hard drug was concealed in false compartments constructed in a Volkswagen Combi bus.

    He alleged that the suspect, who was intercepted at Crusher village in Lokoja, loaded the hard drug in the vehicle at Otua town in Edo.

    Bello added that the driver, Femi Ojabo, 27, from Isua in Ondo State, also stashed 377.8 kilogrammes of Indian hemp in the vehicle.

    He gave the names of other suspects as Haruna Salihu, 30, who was arrested with 14.4 kilogrammes, and Abubakar Sunday, a 31-year-old civil servant, who was nabbed with 13.5 kilogrammes of the substance.

    The NDLEA boss appealed to members of the public to assist the command with relevant information that could lead to the arrest of drug peddlers and dealers, and vowed to rid Kogi of illicit drugs and its dealers.

  • NDLEA warns youths against use of drugs

    NDLEA warns youths against use of drugs

    Mr Ama Imalegwu, the Assistant State Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in Anambra, has warned youths against the use of drugs.

    Imalegwu gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Awka.

    He said some youths, who engaged in taking hard drugs as a way of life, found themselves there without knowing its implications, urging parents to be alive to the upbringing of their children.

    According to the NDLEA commander, the dependence on drugs is a disease and mothers should be close to their children and advise them appropriately.

    Imalegwu said that the health implications of taking hard drugs were many and every drug when abused could have negative effects on the user, which might even lead to death.

    He said the symptoms of drug addiction include, sharp change in the normal behaviour of the affected individuals, unusual boldness, body odour, bully traits among others.

    Imalegwu said that if parents and guardians watched their children and wards closely and discover some of these traits, they should start to counsel them or send them to rehabilitation centres.

    He said that victims of drug abuse should not hesitate to go for medical treatment, as according to him, there is a centre, where they can be treated and rehabilitated in the state.

    The NDLEA officer urged the citizenry not to apportion blame on the drug user or peddlers but should see drug abuse, as a collective responsibility of individuals, family, the state and the country at large.

    Imalegwu advised Nigerians to stop stigmatising the victims of drug abuse but use love and kind words to win their attention, so that they can become good citizens.

     

  • Man remanded for drug trafficking

    A Federal High Court in Abuja, has remanded a 28-year-old man, Mikel Awuge, in prison for allegedly trafficking 200 grammes of Indian hemp.

    Awuge, who was arraigned on Monday by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is standing trial on a count charge, bordering on unlawful possession of narcotic drug.

    The counsel to the NDLEA, Mrs M. E. Faruna, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Jan. 22 at Nyanya Abuja.

    Faruna said that the accused without any lawful authority, possessed 200grammes of Cannabis Sativa a Narcotic drug, similar to cocaine, Heroin and LSD.

    She said the offence contravened Section 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act.Cap N30,Laws of Federation of Nigeria. 2004.

    The accused, who was not represented by any counsel, pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge.

    The Judge, Justice B.O Quadri, consequently remanded the accused in prison custody.

    He adjourned the case till April 25, for review of facts in the case.

  • Drug Abuse: Niger to partner NDLEA

    The Niger Government says it will partner with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to curtail incessant drug abuse among youths in the state.

    Hajiya Mairam Kolo, Director-General of the Niger State Child’s Rights Agency, disclosed this when she visited the State Command of the NDLEA in Minna on Wednesday.

    She said that the agency was established by Gov. Abubakar Bello to protect the rights of children and treat child abuse related issues.

    “The partnership will enable both agencies to curtail and minimise the use of drugs among young people.

    “The high rate of rape and child abuse in the state is condemnable and most of these children are being abused by parents, guardians or neighbours.

    “Also, majority of the pregnant girls brought to the agency are engaged in drug abuse and such cases require special attention,’’ she said.

    The State Commandant of NDLEA, Mr Iweajunwa Joseph, advised the agency to extend its coverage to the 25 local government areas of the state to monitor children who were being abused on daily basis.

    He blamed child abuse on parents who did not live up to the responsibilities of taking care of their children, thereby leaving them exposed to all forms of abuses.

    Joseph appealed to the state government to assist in the rehabilitation of inmates by enrolling them in schools to complete their education.