A 33-year-old dispatch rider, Yahaya Nuru, was on Wednesday convicted and sentenced to a total of seven years’ imprisonment by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for the unlawful distribution of large quantities of tramadol and other prohibited drugs.
Justice Musa Kakaki delivered the judgment after Nuru pleaded guilty to a four-count charge filed against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
At the arraignment, the prosecutor, Peter Ekuri, told the court that the convict, alongside others still at large, committed the offences in November 2025 at No. 6 Ashogbon Street, Lagos Island.
“Nuru conspired with Abdulrazak and Chukwu Emmanuel Emeka, who are currently at large, to unlawfully deal in controlled substances,” Ekuri said.
He further informed the court that Nuru was arrested with 4.12 kilograms of tramadol hydrochloride, 40 millilitres of tramadol hydrochloride injection, one litre of diazepam injection, and 1.04 litres of tramadol hydrochloride injection, which he intended to dispatch to different buyers.
According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened Sections 20(1)(a) and 11(c) and are punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Following the guilty plea, Ekuri urged the court to convict and sentence Nuru. “In view of Nuru’s plea of guilt, the facts reviewed, and the exhibits tendered, we urge the court to act in accordance with Section 247(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015,” he said.
While pleading for leniency, the defence counsel asked the court to “temper justice with mercy,” noting that the convict was a first-time offender who saved the court’s time by pleading guilty.
Delivering the sentence, Justice Kakaki said he had considered the allocutus of the defence and the fact that Nuru was a first-time offender.
“In the circumstances, the defendant is sentenced to four years, five months, one month, and three years’ imprisonment on counts one, two, three, and four, respectively,” the judge ruled.
The court also ordered Nuru to pay fines of N300,000, N30,000, N50,000, and N200,000 on the respective counts as an option to imprisonment.
Justice Kakaki further directed that “both the sentences and the fine options shall run concurrently.”
