Justice Tijjani Ringim, of a Federal High Court, Lagos has convicted and sentenced a dealer in Cannabis Sativa popularly known as marijuana, Saidu Sulaiman, to thirteen years in prison.
Justice Ringim gave the judgement after the convict reversed his ‘not guilty plea’ which he had pleaded when he was previously arraigned before the court to ‘guilty’.
He was first arraigned before Justice Chuka Obiozor, in 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge of unlawful dealing in 85.4 Kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, which he smuggled into the country from the Benin Republic.
The offences according to the prosecutor, Mr Oluwafemi Adebayo, are Contrary to and punishable under sections 14(b) and 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, following the transfer of Justice Obiozor to another jurisdiction of the court, the Convict’s case file was taken over by Justice Ringim, and he was consequently re-arraigned.
Upon his arraignment before Justice Ringim, the convict pleaded guilty to the two counts, the development that made the court called on the prosecution to review the fact of the case.
