A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced 41-year-old Canadian national, Adrienne Munju, to 11 years in prison for importing 35.20 kilograms of cannabis, known as ‘Canadian Loud,’ into Nigeria.
The verdict was delivered by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu on Wednesday, who also offered Munju an alternative of paying a N100 million fine in lieu of the prison sentence.
Munju was convicted after pleading guilty to two charges brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The charges stemmed from her illegal importation of the cannabis, which was discovered on October 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of passengers on a KLM flight at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The NDLEA prosecutor, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, informed the court that Munju had violated Section 20(1)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, which is punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the same Act. Ibrahim presented evidence and exhibits before the court, urging Justice Dipeolu to convict Munju based on her guilty plea and the materials submitted.
In response, the judge found Munju guilty as charged and handed down the sentence. During the proceedings, Munju’s defense counsel, Benson Ndakara, alongside Dennis Warri and Kate Igbo, pleaded for leniency, urging the court to show mercy on the convict.
“We plead for leniency on behalf of the convict, my Lord.
The convict pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity by not wasting the precious time of the court and has been very remorseful,” he said.
Ndakara added that the convict had vowed never to toe the path of criminality again and to be more careful in the future if given a second chance.
Speaking on the aggravating factor leading to the crime, Ndakara said the convict was deceived into taking the high risk and urged the court to be lenient in sentencing her.
The convict’s counsel also pleaded with the court to impose an option of fine on the convict instead of the custodian sentence, adding that the convict had no relatives or acquaintances in Nigeria and had been abandoned by everyone.
After listening to the defence counsel’s allocutus, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two or an option of N50m fine on each count.
Justice Dipeolu, however, ordered that both sentence and option of fine shall run concurrently.
Munju was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA, on October 3, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for importing a large consignment of a strong strain of synthetic cannabis called ‘Canadian Loud’.
The convict was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on a KLM airline flight from Canada at Terminal 1 of the Lagos airport.
According to information from the anti-narcotic agency, “During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne, who was in Nigeria for the first time, was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilogrammes, stuffed in two of her three bags.
“In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos.
“She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing Master’s degree programme in Canada.”
(Punch)