Court sentences 76-year-old grandpa to 40 years in prison for drug offences

The Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 76-year-old grandfather, Francis Omofe, who was arrested while transporting a large quantity of cannabis sativa to Edo State in a vehicle with a police number plate, to 40 years’ imprisonment.

Omofe was said to have been arrested in Abuja on June 18, 2024, in a Nissan Frontier vehicle with police force number plate: NPF 558D, while transporting the substance from Edo to Kaduna State.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/286/2024, accused Omofe of Goni Gora, Kaduna State, of possessing 340.8 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa, a narcotic substance, on or about June 18, 2024, along Kuje Road in Abuja.

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act CAP N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The NDLEA, in count two, accused him of transporting 340.38 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa, a narcotic substance, in a Nissan Frontier with registration number NPF 558D on or about June 18, 2024, along Kuje Road in Abuja.

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The prosecution said the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 11(p) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act CAP N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

While delivering judgment on Friday, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecution had been able to prove the two-count charge preferred against Omofe beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted him as charged.

Justice Omotosho held that, in spite of the plea for mercy, a punishment must be imposed to serve as a deterrent in the national interest.

The judge held that he took judicial notice that the defendant’s action of transporting a huge commercial quantity of cannabis using a vehicle with a police number plate to the northern region, particularly Kaduna State, where terrorists and bandits had killed a number of innocent Nigerians under the influence of such substances, was unacceptable.

The judge, therefore, sentenced Omofe to 15 years’ imprisonment on count one without the option of a fine and, considering the defendant’s age, reduced the life imprisonment for count two to a 25-year jail term, without the option of a fine.

The judge also ordered that the sentences shall run concurrently from June 18, 2024, the date of his arrest, making a total of 25 years’ imprisonment.