Thursday, January 15, 2026 - A 33-year-old dispatch rider, Yahaya Nuru, was on Wednesday convicted and sentenced to a total of seven years’ imprisonment by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for the unlawful distribution of large quantities of tramadol and other prohibited drugs.
Justice Musa Kakaki delivered the judgment after Nuru
pleaded guilty to a four-count charge filed against him by the National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency.
At the arraignment, the prosecutor, Peter Ekuri, told the
court that the convict, alongside others still at large, committed the offences
in November 2025 at No. 6 Ashogbon Street, Lagos Island.
“Nuru conspired with Abdulrazak and Chukwu Emmanuel Emeka,
who are currently at large, to unlawfully deal in controlled substances,” Ekuri
said.
He further informed the court that Nuru was arrested with
4.12 kilograms of tramadol hydrochloride, 40 millilitres of tramadol
hydrochloride injection, one litre of diazepam injection, and 1.04 litres of
tramadol hydrochloride injection, which he intended to dispatch to different
buyers.
According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened
Sections 20(1)(a) and 11(c) and are punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the
NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Following the guilty plea, Ekuri urged the court to convict
and sentence Nuru. “In view of Nuru’s plea of guilt, the facts reviewed, and
the exhibits tendered, we urge the court to act in accordance with Section
247(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015,” he said.
While pleading for leniency, the defence counsel asked the
court to “temper justice with mercy,” noting that the convict was a first-time
offender who saved the court’s time by pleading guilty.
Delivering the sentence, Justice Kakaki said he had
considered the allocutus of the defence and the fact that Nuru was a first-time
offender.
“In the circumstances, the defendant is sentenced to four
years, five months, one month, and three years’ imprisonment on counts one,
two, three, and four, respectively,” the judge ruled.
The court also ordered Nuru to pay fines of N300,000,
N30,000, N50,000, and N200,000 on the respective counts as an option to
imprisonment.
Justice Kakaki further directed that “both the sentences and
the fine options shall run concurrently.”
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