Lagos drug dealer conviction sees court sentence man to 24 months imprisonment over cocaine and cannabis offences

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 44-year-old man, Olalowo Olatunji, to 24 months’ imprisonment for unlawful dealing in cocaine and Cannabis sativa, popularly known as Indian hemp or marijuana.

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Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa delivered the judgment after Olatunji pleaded guilty to a two-count charge filed against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The NDLEA prosecuting counsel, Peter Ekuri, told the court that the convict was arrested on March 8, 2026, at Victoria Island, Lagos, while hawking 89 grams of cocaine and 20 grams of cannabis sativa.

Ekuri stated that the offences contravened Section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Upon arraignment, Olatunji admitted committing the offences and entered guilty pleas to both counts.

Following the plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.

Addressing the court in his allocutus, defence counsel, Uche Okoronkwo, appealed for mercy, describing his client as a first-time offender who had cooperated with the judicial process.

“My lord, Olatunji is a first-time offender and has not wasted the precious time of this honourable court. We urge the court to temper justice with mercy,” he said.

Okoronkwo further urged the court to consider a non-custodial sentence or an option of fine instead of imprisonment.

In his judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that the convict deserved some measure of leniency because he was a first-time offender and the quantity of drugs recovered was relatively small.

“The convict is a first-time offender, and the quantity of narcotics recovered from him is not substantial enough to warrant the maximum punishment,” the judge ruled.

The court sentenced Olatunji to 12 months’ imprisonment on each of the two counts, with an option of a N1m fine on each count, bringing the total fine option to N2m.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa further ordered that both prison terms and the fine options should run concurrently.

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The Lagos drug dealer conviction adds to recent enforcement actions by the NDLEA against narcotics trafficking and illicit drug distribution across Nigeria.