The Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, has sentenced a 49-year-old drug kingpin, Alaba Monday, and 10 others to a combined 79 years in prison for various drug-related offences.
The judgment, delivered by Justices B. O. Quadiri and Prof. C. O. Obiozor, was confirmed in a statement by the Edo State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mitchell Ofoyeju.
Among the convicts are Okpiaesi Abraham (52), Atari Israel (45), Emmanuel Nwosu (46), Samuel Samson (26), Daniel Peter (20), Margaret Amuludu (40), Abel Edah (31), Bella Fedrick (29), Lucky Aligbe (50), and Benson Uponi (65).
Ofoyeju disclosed that Monday was arrested with 115 kilograms of cannabis and sentenced to 15 years in prison with a fine of ₦3 million. Aligbe received 25 years for possessing various drugs including tramadol, swinol, diazepam, and cannabis.
Bella Fedrick was sentenced to two years or a ₦5 million fine for unlawful possession of 29 grams of methamphetamine. Similarly, Abel Edah was convicted for cultivating a 0.678-hectare cannabis farm and sentenced to two years or ₦5 million per count.
Other convicts — Samson, Peter, and Nwosu — received sentences ranging from two to 15 years, with fines between ₦750,000 and ₦5 million. Atari Israel got two years and a ₦2.5 million fine, while his vehicle used for transporting cannabis was forfeited to the government.
The NDLEA commander commended the court’s verdict, emphasizing that it would serve as a deterrent to others involved in the illicit drug trade.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to a drug-free society and urged the public to report suspicious drug activities in their communities.
