Justice B.O. Quadri of the Federal
High Court Abuja has sentenced a 55 year old female pilgrim Binuyo Basirat
Iyabo, caught last September smuggling 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 931 grams
to Medina, Saudi Arabia to ten years imprisonment with hard labor with effect
from yesterday., March 1st.In his judgment delivered on Monday
February 27, 2017 Quadri said that the sentence will serve as a deterrent to
others. Besides, he lambasted the convict for not revealing the identities
of her sponsors.
LIB previously reported that Binuyo tested positive to narcotic ingestion at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja while on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last September. She was immediately placed under observation by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) where she excreted seventy-six (76) pellets of substances found to be cocaine.
NDLEA commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan said that the convict hails from Irepodun local government area of Kwara State. She is married with three children and a trader at dosumu market, Lagos. In her statement to the NDLEA, she agreed to smuggle the drugs for a fee.
LIB previously reported that Binuyo tested positive to narcotic ingestion at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja while on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last September. She was immediately placed under observation by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) where she excreted seventy-six (76) pellets of substances found to be cocaine.
NDLEA commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan said that the convict hails from Irepodun local government area of Kwara State. She is married with three children and a trader at dosumu market, Lagos. In her statement to the NDLEA, she agreed to smuggle the drugs for a fee.
"I am a trader in Lagos,
married with three children. I wanted to expand my cosmetic business but I have
no money. My sponsor offered to foot my expenses to Saudi on pilgrimage. I was
excited until I was asked to take drugs along. I wanted to decline but
considering the offer of a million naira, I accepted. I swallowed the drugs in
Lagos and took flight to Abuja on my way to Medina but I was caught in the
process" she stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the
Agency, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd.) while applauding the sentence
warned against drug trafficking.
"The war against drug
trafficking in Nigeria is on course. Stopping the woman from going to Saudi
with the drugs was highly commendable and the punishment is right. No drug
traffickers shall go unpunished" he stated
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