A 41-year-old Canadian lady, Adrienne Munju, was on Wednesday convicted and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for importing 35.20 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud (Cannabis Sativa) into Nigeria.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who convicted her also gave her an option of N100 million fine on the two counts preferred against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The judge sentenced Munju following her plea of guilt on the two counts.
The NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Munju without lawful authority imported 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa, otherwise known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria during the arraignment.
Ibrahim said the incident occurred on or about October 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of inbound passengers on the KLM flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Section 20(1), (a) and punishable under Section 20(2) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, Munju pleaded guilty to the charges against her.
Following her guilty plea, Ibrahim informed the court of the readiness of the prosecution to review the facts of the case and a prosecution witness was called in to give evidence and tender relevant exhibits.
The prosecutor after reviewing the facts of the case urged the court to convict Munju, as charged, based on the evidence placed before the court, and the exhibits tendered and her guilty plea.
Justice Dipeolu, on reviewing the facts of the case as submitted by Ibrahim, convicted Munju as charged.
In his allocutus before the court, the counsel for Munju, Benson Ndakara, leading Dennis Warri, Kate Igbo and others pleaded with the court to have mercy on the convict, saying, “We plead for leniency on behalf of the convict, my Lord.”
