A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo on Monday sentenced a middle-aged man, Nwoke Ifeanyi, to two years imprisonment for illegal possession of 600 grams of tramadol.
Ifeanyi was arraigned on May 15, 2024 during which he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of the substance.
The prosecutor from the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Olufemi Ijimakin, informed the court during the arraignment that the man was arrested along Gbongan-Ibadan expressway with 1,010 capsules weighing 600 grams.
This, he said, was contrary to the provision of section 19 of the NDLEA Act, 2004.
On Monday, Justice Mashkur Salisu, while delivering the judgment, noted that the confessional statement of Ifeanyi and his admittance of guilt alongside other evidence tendered by the prosecution were enough to prove him guilty, hence his conviction.
The counsel to the convict, Barrister Alfred Adegoke, urged the court to temper justice with mercy because his client promised to turn a new leaf.
“I urged the court to give him a second chance. He is a first offender with no criminal record. He is remorseful and promised to turn a new leaf,” he pleaded.
Justice Salisu, in his remarks, said the section under which Ifeanyi was convicted attracts a minimum of 15 years in prison.
But considering the counsel’s appeal, the judge sentenced Ifeanyi to two years imprisonment starting from the date of arrest on April 4, 2024.