NDLEA secures 15-year sentence for 45-year-old drug dealer

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano Strategic Command, has secured a 15-year prison sentence against a 45-year-old man, Jonathan Nuhu, for unlawful possession of cannabis sativa.

The conviction was handed down on March 17, 2026, by the Federal High Court No. 2 sitting in Kano, presided over by Justice M. N. Yunusa.

According to a statement issued on March 18, 2026, Nuhu, a native of Kanke Village in Plateau State, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on July 20, 2023, near Wudil Bridge in the Wudil Local Government Area of Kano State. His arrest followed the seizure of 116 bags of cannabis sativa.

He was subsequently charged and arraigned before the court, with the prosecution lasting about three years before the court found him guilty and imposed the custodial sentence, effective from the date of judgement.

The agency disclosed that the convict is a repeat offender, having earlier been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Jigawa State on June 22, 2021, for a similar offence.

He was on bail pending appeal in that case at the time of his arrest in Kano.

Further investigations by the NDLEA linked Nuhu to a wider drug trafficking syndicate involved in the movement and distribution of cannabis across northern Nigeria.

The Kano Strategic Command, led by Commander D. Y. Lawal, commended its operatives and legal team for successfully prosecuting the case.

Lawal said the judgement underscores the agency’s determination to pursue drug offenders, including those who continue criminal activities while on bail.

He also reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment, under its chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, to ensuring thorough investigation and prosecution of drug-related offences, adding that the command would continue to target and dismantle criminal networks in the region.