A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 31-year-old bricklayer, Rasheed Bolaji, to two years in prison for the sale of cannabis (weed) at Ikoyi Custodial Centre.
He was found guilty of two counts of trafficking and unlawful dealing in 5.3 kg of Indian hemp and was convicted on Friday by Justice Abimbola Awogboro.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) arraigned Bolaji before the court after he was arrested in the prison premises selling the illegal product to inmates.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charges.
The prosecution counsel, M. I. Erondu, while reviewing the facts after Bolaji’s guilty plea, told the court that the convict was arrested with the banned substance on December 2, 2022, at Ikoyi Centre of the Correctional Service, Lagos, while in the act.
She said the offence committed was contrary to and punishable under Sections 11(b) and 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act Cap N 30 LFN 2004.
Erondu urged the court to sentence the convict according to Sections 274(2) and 375 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015.
Bolaji, however, begged for mercy and promised not to engage in any crime if given a second chance.
The defence counsel, Bolanle Kolawole, told the court that her client was a bricklayer, who ‘smoked’ the Indian hemp for energy while carrying out his duties.
She pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing him and also begged the court to award an option of a fine instead of a custodian sentence.
Delivering judgement, Justice Awogboro sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment without an option of a fine.