Teacher Jailed For Hemp

An Upper Area Court in Jos, on Wednesday sentenced a 25-year-old school teacher, Apam Agwom, to four months imprisonment for being in possession of some wraps of Indian hemp.

Agwom, who teaches at a local primary school in Lamingo, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, was caught with the substance by security agents weeks ago.

Malam Mustapha Hassan, who sentenced Agwom, commended the prosecution for doing a good job to convince the court to jail the accused.

“The evidence tendered before the court by the prosecution and the confessional statement of the accused assisted the court a great deal,” he said.

Police prosecutor Monday Dabit had told the court that the accused was arrested on December 10, at about 2 p.m., by soldiers attached to the Special Task Force (STF)

“During police investigation, the accused confessed to committing the offence,” Dabit said. The prosecutor tendered several wraps of Indian Hemp as exhibits.

He said that the accused, who resides at Tina Junction in Jos, had committed an offence contrary to section 319 of the Penal Code Law.

The teacher, while pleading guilty, blamed the devil for his behaviour and begged the court for leniency.

“If you jail me for a long term, I will lose my job,” he told the court. The judge warned him to be of good behaviour after his jail term, and warned that the court would not be lenient if he appeared a second time. He ordered the police to destroy the weeds so that “it will not fall into wrong hands.”