Ex-convict jailed 6 months for drug peddling

A Federal High Court in Jos has sentenced a 35-year-old man, Peter Nwode, to six months imprisonment for unlawful possession of 200 grammes of Indian hemp.

The convict was arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Jan. 14, 2017 at the Ali Kazaure area of Jos.

Justice Dorcas Agishe convicted Nwode, a second offender, after he pleaded guilty to the charge preferred against him by the agency.

Delivering her judgment on Wednesday, Agishe said that the sentence was on “compassionate grounds”, and warned Nwode to desist from such illegal business.

“I am sentencing you to six months imprisonment based on the fact that you are diabetic and have a serious wound on one of your legs.

“Your sentence began from the day you were arrested by NDLEA officials; you are warned never to indulge in this bad business again in your interest,” the judge stated.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mrs. Ramattu Oketola, had told the court that Nwode was a second offender having served a two-year jail term over a similar offence.

Oketola told the court that the convict was caught with 200 grammes of Indian Hemp which was an offence punishable under section 20 (c) (2) of NDLEA Act Cap N30 LFN 2004 (As Amended).

“My Lord, the suspect is a second offender having been arrested, tried and jailed for two years and was only released on May 16, 2016, only to be caught, again, in January this year.

“But since he has pleaded guilty to the offence, I wish to apply for his summary trial and conviction in accordance with he law.

“As he rightly told the court, he is actually sick; we discovered that he is diabetic. what confounds us is why he is into this illicit business when he is not well.”

Nwode, while pleading guilty to the charge, had begged the court to temper justice with mercy, explaining that he was diabetic and had an open sore on one of his legs.