Court Jails 4 Men For 26 Years For illegal dealing In 1.2 Tonnes Of Tramadol

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced four young men in their early twenties to a total of 26 years in prison for trafficking 1.2 tonnes of tramadol.

The convicts, Kabiru Jabir, aged 23; Abdullahi Abubakar, 22; Muhammed Nuhu, 22; and Abdulrazaq Mustapha, 22, were jailed by Justice Aluko after pleading guilty to separate charges of drug trafficking brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Jabir and Abubakar were sentenced to seven-year imprisonment each for transporting 638kg of tramadol, while Nuhu and Mustapha were handed six-year terms for conveying another 597kg of the controlled substance.

The four men were arrested after moving the consignments from Ogere, Ogun State, towards Lagos along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on 2 July 2026.

The prosecutor, Buhari Abdullahi, had informed the court that the convicts lacked lawful authority to transport the drugs and used two Howo Sino trucks for the operation.

Following their guilty pleas, Abdullahi tendered parts of the seized drugs, the convicts’ confessional statements, and other exhibits; he then urged the court to convict them based on the evidence.

However, the defence counsel, Emmanuel Okeyin, pleaded for leniency; he described his clients as first-time offenders who had saved the court the time of a full trial by admitting the offences.

He also urged the court to consider non-custodial sentences because the convicts are now remorseful and have vowed not to engage in criminal activity in the future.

Justice Aluko, however, imposed the prison terms, though he gave the convicts the option of fines.

The judge ordered Jabir and Abubakar to pay N10 million each, while Nuhu and Mustapha were ordered to pay N8 million each.

The court also ordered the final forfeiture of the two trucks used to transport the drug to the federal government.