A clearing agent, Ernest Emeka Ani, has been convicted and sentenced to three and a half years, by a Federal High Court, Lagos, for smuggling 81.7 Kilogrames of Cannabis Sativa into the country.
The clearing agent was convicted and given the jail-term by Justice Musa Kakaki, after he pleaded guilty to the two counts charge of unlawful importation of the prohibited substance.
He was ordered to pay fine option of N2 million and N1.5 million on the two counts charge respectively, in lieu of the custodian sentence.
The judge however ordered that either the jail-term or the fine option shall run concurrently.
The convicted clearing agent, Ernest Emeka Ani, was accused of conspiring with one Ikwuneme Chukwuemeka, said to be at large, to smuggle the prohibited drug to the country through the Tincan Island Container Terminal, Apapa, Lagos.
The convict and his co-conspirator, according to the prosecutor, Barrister Adekunle Adebajo, concealed the drugs in two vehicles, a 2005 Toyota Corolla car with VIN 2TIBR32E05C901066 and a 2009 Pontiac Vibe car with VIN 5Y25M670592460804.
Barrister Adebajo had told the court that the convict’s actions are contrary to and punishable under 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.
The clearing agent had pleaded guilty when the charge was read to him.
Based on his guilty plea, the prosecutor reviewed the case, tendered the exhibits and urged court to convict and sentence him.
He also prayed the court to forfeit the two cars used as means of smuggling the drug into the country.
But the convicted clearing agent’s counsel, Barrister Raphael Imikaiye, in his allucutor, who described his client as victim of circumstances, told the court that he was deceived by a customer.
He therefore urged the court to be lenient in sentencing his client, while also prayed the court for a non-custodian sentence.
Justice Kakaki, after confirming from the prosecutor that the clearing agent was a first time offender, sentenced him to two years and one and half years in both counts.
In considering the non-custodian sentence request of the lawyer, the judge ordered the convict to pay the sum of N2 million and N1.5m for both counts. But held that both the sentence and fine option to run concurrently.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the two cars, a 2005 Toyota Corolla car with VIN 2TIBR32E05C901066 and a 2009 Pontiac Vibe car with VIN 5Y25M670592460804, used in committing the crimes to the federal government of Nigeria.
Charges against the convicted clearing agent read: That you Ernest Emeka Ani, Male, Adult, and one Ikwuneme Chukwuemeka, (Now at Large), on or about the 4th day of September 2025, at the Tincan Island Container Terminal, Lagos state, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without lawful authority, imported 80.5 Kilogrames or Cannabis Indica, a narcotic drug similar to Cocaine, Heroin, and LSD, by concealing same inside a 2005 Toyota Corolla car with VIN 2TIBR32E05C901066 and a 2009 Pontiac Vibe car with VIN 5Y25M670592460804, and thereby committed an offence provided for and punishable under Section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.
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