Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a 32-year-old man, Abolaji Adeshina, who claimed to be an Indian hemp smoker, to two years imprisonment.
Justice Aneke jailed the convict after he pleaded guilty to unlawful dealing in 97 Kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, also known as marijuana, made against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The convict, who resides in Fadeyi, Lagos had earlier in 2023 pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was first arraigned before the court. He was subsequently admitted to bail with some terms.
However, at the resumed hearing of the charge, the convict, whom a counsel did not represent, signified his intention to change his plea.
He also told the court that he had no money to hire a lawyer who would represent him.
Based on his submission, the court ordered that the charge be reread to him to record his new plea.
However, when asked if he was the owner of the 97 kilogrammess of cannabis, the convict said, “I am not the owner, though; I smoke ‘Igbo’. I was arrested when I went to where the ‘Igbo’ were being sold. I only smoke, but I don’t sell it.”
When reminded of his confessional statement, where he stated that he was the owner of the banned substance, the convict denied being the owner. But said it was NDLEA’s operatives that wrote the statement for him.
He, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, promising that he would not smoke or sell Indian Hemps again.
At the end of his submission, the prosecutor, M. I. Erondu, urged the court to convict and sentence him based on his new plea and by sections 275(2) and 353 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
Justice Aneke, after listening to the convict and the prosecutor, sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment.
The judge, however, gave him an option of a N1 million fine into the consolidated Account of the Federal Government instead of the jail term.
