Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a businessman, Okechukwu Izugha to 6 months in jail for trafficking in 500 grams of cocaine.
Justice Dipeolu jailed Izugha after he pleaded responsible to a one-count cost of illegal cocaine dealing introduced in opposition to him by the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company (NDLEA).
The NDLEA had accused the convict of procuring his spouse, Maureen Izugha, to deal in 500 grams of cocaine on January 21, 2025, at 6 Agbebi Road, Ijeshatedo Market Space, Lagos State.
The convict had initially pleaded not responsible to the fees in opposition to him, which led his counsel, Dennis Warri, to use for his bail.
Nonetheless, Justice Dipeolu refused to grant the bail after the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, opposed it.
The decide as an alternative ordered an accelerated listening to of the matter.
Nonetheless, when the trial resumed on Friday, the convict modified his plea from not responsible to responsible.
Subsequently, the prosecutor urged the court docket to convict him based mostly on his plea and the proof introduced.
Following the conviction, his lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating that Izugha was a first-time offender who has proven regret throughout his incarceration.
The defence lawyer pleaded with the decide to impose a non-custodial sentence on his shopper as an alternative of a jail time period.
After contemplating the arguments from each events, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Izugha to 6 months in jail with out the choice of a tremendous.
It is going to be recalled that Izugha’s spouse, Maureen, had beforehand been convicted by one other decide of the Federal Excessive Courtroom, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who sentenced her to 5 years in jail or a tremendous of N2 million.
