Two vendors at the well-known Ladipo Spare Parts Market, Ezeifeoma Michael and Philip Ucheka, were sentenced to five years in jail each by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos for trafficking 55.60 kg of cannabis sativa, or marijuana.
Following their guilty plea to an amended charge brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in suit number FHC/L/216C/2026, the two were sentenced on Monday, April 27, 2026.
Peter Ekuri, the prosecutor, said the court that the convicts were apprehended at Ladipo Market on November 27, 2025, when the illegal material was hidden in two cars.
According to Ekuri, “the two were apprehended with 55.60 kilograms of cannabis sativa concealed in two vehicles.”
He described the car as a grey Toyota Sienna with a chassis number 5TDZK23C475079926 and an ash-coloured Hyundai Veloster with registration number MUS 318 FC and chassis number KMHTC6D5CU081675.
According to him, the offence contravened Section 11(b) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under the same provision.
Both prisoners admitted to the crime and entered pleas when the charge was read earlier.
The prosecution urged the court to find them guilty, sentence them appropriately, and order the confiscation of the vehicles used in the trafficking after they entered a plea.
Bolanle Kolawole, the defense attorney, described the convicted as first-time offenders with no past criminal records in her allocutus, pleading for leniency.
Given that the offenders had expressed regret and pledged not to commit crimes in the future, she encouraged the court to take non-custodial punishment into consideration.
Despite their request for mercy, Justice Aluko decided that a jail sentence was necessary due to the nature of the offense.
