Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a Canadian lady, Adrienne Munju aged 41, to eleven years imprisonment or a fine of N50 million for allegedly importing 35.20 kilogramme of Canadian Loud (Cannabis Sativa) into Nigeria.
The trial judge convicted and sentenced Muju to the term of imprisonment following her plea of guilty to the two counts charge preferred against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
According to the charge, Adrienne Munju was alleged to have on or about October 3, 2024 during the inward clearance of in-bound passengers on KLM Flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos without lawful authority imported 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa, otherwise known as ‘Canadian Loud’.
The offence committed is said to be contrary to Section 20(1}(a) and punishable under Section 20(2) {a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, NDLEA prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim informed the court that the prosecution has a two count charge pending before the court and pleaded that the charge be read so that the defendant can take her plea.
Consequently the charge was read on the order of the judge and Adrienne Munju pleaded guilty to the same.
Following her guilty plea, Abu informed the court of the readiness of the prosecution to review the facts of the case and a prosecution witness was called in to give evidence and tendered relevant exhibits.
The prosecutor after reviewing the facts of the case urged the court to convict the defendant as charged based on the evidence placed before the court, the exhibits tendered and the guilty plea of the defendant.
Justice Dipeolu on reviewing the facts of the case as submitted by the prosecutor convicted the defendant as charge.
In his allocutus before the court, counsel to the defendant, Chief Benson Ndakara, pleaded with the court to have 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.
The defence lawyer added that the convict has vowed never to toe the line of criminality again and to be more careful in doing things in 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 custodian sentence, adding that the convict has no relatives or acquaintance in Nigeria and has been abandoned by everyone.
After listening to the defendant’s counsel allocutus, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Adrienne Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two or an option of N50 million fine on each count.
Justice Dipeolu however, ordered that both sentence and option of fine shall run concurrently.
The 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on October 3, 2024 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for importing large consignment of a strong strain of synthetic cannabis called ‘Canadian Loud’.
The suspect 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 kilograms, and 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.”
The charge against the convict reads: That you Adrienne Munju, Adult, Female, a Canadian, on or about the 3″ of October, 2024 during the inward clearance of in-bound passengers on KLM Flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos without lawful authority imported 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa, otherwise known as ‘Canadian Loud’, you thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 20(1}(a) and punishable under Section 20(2){a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (NDLEA) Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
That you Adrienne Munju; Adult, Female, a Canadian, on or about the 3rd day of ” October, 2024 during the inward clearance of in-bound passengers on KLM Flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos without lawful authority knowingly possessed 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa.
