A Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday convicted two men who trade in cannabis, popularly called marijuana and sent each of them to a six-month imprisonment.
The convicts, who had earlier pleaded guilty to one-count charge of trading in cannabis, brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), were convicted by Justice Musa H. Kurya.
Two lawyers,? Paul Ganjuma Audu and Chidi Nnabuke, had urged the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the convicts, who did not, on their own engage the services of a counsel.
The lawyers’ plea was based on the ground that the convicts were first time offenders.
They also said the convicts did not waste the time of the court by pleading guilty when they were first arraigned on December 6, 2012,
The two lawyers also told the court that since a sentence is to correct, not to deform,? giving the convicts a long jail term could make them to be become more hardened.
The NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Orji S Kalu, confirmed that the convicts were first time offenders, who did not have any previous criminal record with his agency.
While pronouncing the judgement, Justice Kurya said: “Having pleaded guilty to the charge, and with the plea for leniency by the accused and the plea for leniency by the two counsel, they are hereby sentenced to six months imprisonment, stating from today.”