Magwalu Chukwudi
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has sentenced Magwalu Chukwudi to four years’ imprisonment on each of two counts for unlawfully exporting 8.30 kilogrammes of a psychotropic substance under international control.
The court, however, ordered that the sentences shall run concurrently from the date of the defendant’s surrender and extension, effectively limiting the period of imprisonment to four years.
The sentence followed the defendant’s guilty pleas to both counts contained in the charge brought against him under Section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The court, after considering the quantity of the substance involved and the mitigation presented on behalf of the defendant, proceeded to impose the custodial sentence.
Justice Aluko also imposed a fine of N1 million on the defendant.
According to Count One, Chukwudi, on July 24, 2026, at the NAPO Export Shed, a Customs area of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, during the examination of a consignment destined for Nairobi, Kenya, without lawful authority, procured and caused to be exported 8.30 kilogrammes of a psychotropic substance under international control.
The prosecution alleged that the act constituted an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act.
When the first count was read to him, the defendant confirmed that he understood the charge and pleaded guilty.
Count Two similarly alleged that Chukwudi, at the same location and on the same date, without lawful authority, exported 8.30 kilogrammes of the psychotropic substance during the examination of the consignment to Nairobi.
The defendant again told the court that he understood the charge and pleaded guilty.
Following his pleas, the court considered the circumstances of the case, including the quantity of the substance involved and the mitigation before it, before imposing the four-year concurrent prison terms and the N1 million fine.
The case arose from the examination of a consignment at the NAPO Export Shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, where the prohibited substance was allegedly discovered in a shipment bound for Kenya.
