Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a businessman, Obidike Onodyer, to seven years’ imprisonment for importing 485 grams of cocaine.
Onodyer, jailed after a six-year trial, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on August 5, 2015, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos during an outward clearance of passengers on Royal Air Maroc from Brazil.
The prosecutor, Mrs Juliana Iraobuchi, had filed a charge against the convict for unlawful importation of cocaine in suit FHC/L/40c/15 dated September 29, 2015.
Upon arraignment, Onodyer pleaded not guilty and was granted bail but was said to have deceived the Nigerian Immigration Services into issuing another passport in place of the one confiscated by the court.
He subsequently abandoned his trial, after which the court revoked his bail.
He procured a medical certificate to apply for bail on medical grounds when his trial resumed but the prosecutor proved to the court that the certificate was forged, forcing him to apply for a plea bargain which was also declined.
In a final move, the businessman opted to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on July 16, 2021, while his counsel, Adebayo Onifade, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that the convict had become remorseful.
Delivering judgment, Justice Faji said the term should run from November, 2018 when Onodyer’s bail was revoked, while the new passport he fraudulently procured should be forfeited to the Federal Government.