A U.S.-trained Nollywood filmmaker, Mbadiwe Emmanuel Emeka, was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison today by the Federal High Court in Lagos for trafficking 17.30 kilograms of Canada Loud, a potent strain of Cannabis Sativa.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa handed down the sentence after Emeka pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of unlawful importation of the banned substance, filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Prior to his conviction, the NDLEA prosecutor, Barrister Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the convict was arrested on December 24, 2024, during the examination of incoming Cargo with Airway Bill No: 00637337285, form Huston, United States of America at National Handling Company (NAHCO) Import Shed, a Customs Area/Point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos.
The prosecutor told the court that the convict had procured one Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James to import the banned drug.
He told the court that the illegal acts of the convict contravened sections section 21(1)(e) and punishable under section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The convict, admitted committing the acts, and pleaded guilty to the two counts charge
Based on his guilty plea, court gave the prosecutor the nod to review the facts of the charge as well as to tendered all exhibits in the charge.
Following the reviewed the facts of the charge and tendering of exhibits, which includes: the bulk of the drug, the convict’s confessional statements, iPhone pro Max 12 and others, the prosecutor urged the court to convict and sentence him, based on his guilty plea and exhibits tendered.
However, lawyer to the convicted filmmaker, Dennis Warri, in his allucutor pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client.
He pleaded with court to consider his client timely guilty plea, as a sign of remorseful and for not waste the time of court.
Specifically, he pleaded to the court to give his client a non-custodian sentence or a fine option in lieu of the custodian sentence.
Deciding on the parties’ submissions, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced the convicted filmmaker to five years imprisonment.
The judge however ordered him to pay N3 million in lieu of the jail-term. While also ordered that the bulk of the exhibit and the iPhone pro Max 12, be forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria.
Charges against the filmmaker read: “That you Mbadiwe Emmanuel Emeka, Male, Adult, on or about the 24th of December, 2024 during the examination of incoming Cargo with Airway Bill No:00637337285 form Huston, United States of America at National Handling Company (NAHCO) Import Shed, a Customs Area/Point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos procured one Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James to import 17.30 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, a Narcotic Drug similar to Cocaine, LSD, Heroin and you thereby committed an act which an offence contrary to section 21 (1) (e) and punishable under section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“That you Mbadiwe Emmanuel Emeka, Male, Adult, on or about the 24th of December, 2024 during the examination of incoming Cargo with Airway Bill No:00637337285 form Huston, United States of America at National Handling Company (NAHCO) Import Shed, a Customs Area/Point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos without lawful authority imported 17.30 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, a Narcotic Drug similar to Cocaine, LSD, Heroin and you thereby committed an act which is an offence contrary to section 20 (1) (a) and punishable under section 20 (2) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
