Court jails cocaine dealer five years, indicts lawyers

A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Friday sentenced Emmanuel Obiora to five years imprisonment for importing 8.270kg of cocaine from Pakistan and for offering same for sale in Nigeria.

Justice Okon Abang, in his judgment, indicted the prosecuting and defence lawyers in the case for allegedly concealing vital evidence to help the convict to escape justice.

“The court will never be part of such unwholesome conduct,” Abang said.

He convicted and sentenced Obiora to five years imprisonment for dealing in prohibited drugs and for concealing the genuine origin of the N14m proceed of the alleged crime.

He ordered that the five years jail terms for each of the four counts should run concurrently starting from Friday.

The judge ordered that the N14m proceed of the alleged crimes be forfeited to the Federal Government.

He ordered the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Abu Mohammed, to pay the money into the federation account and swear to a verifying affidavit attaching a copy of the bank slip within seven days.

Obiora, who is in his mid-30s, was said to have between February and June 2009 conspired with Sam Egunibe to import the cocaine hidden in 13 cartons of tennis balls from Pakistan.

He was also accused of conspiring with a bureau de change operator, Mohammed Yau, to conceal the true origin of the N14m proceed of the crime.

The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, which prosecuted the case, had told the court that it arrested Obiora at Airforce Base in FESTAC, Lagos on June 28, 2009.

He was said to have returned to Nigeria from Pakistan using the name Dim Chogzie.

Abang, who relied on circumstantial evidence to convict Obiora, accused both the prosecuting and defence lawyers of colluding to help the convict to escape justice by withholding vital evidence in the case.

“The written address filed by the learned prosecuting counsel was of no help to the court,” the judge said.

According to Abang, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Abu Mohammed, “for the reason best known to him” refused to tender the full voluntary statement in which the convict was said to have confessed to the crime.

“If I order investigation into this matter, heads will roll,” the judge said.

He said in addition to the refusal of the prosecuting counsel to tender the full statement of the accused, the lawyer also refused to corroborate the evidence of the fifth prosecution witness, Idris Zakari.

According to the judge, Zakari, had testified that the convict confessed to him and also wrote a statement to that effect on June 29, 2009, the day after he was arrested.

The judge said, “Learned counsel for the prosecution kept mute in his written address that the accused made a confessional statement.

“Whose interest is the learned counsel for the prosecution serving? Is he serving the interest of the prosecution, or justice? Or is he serving the interest of the accused person to escape justice?

“The attitude of the learned counsel for the prosecution is most unfair to the court and to the administration criminal justice system.”

Justice Abang said the defence counsel, Chief Benson Ndakara, also in his written address pretended as if his client had not confessed to the crime.

“Is it that the learned counsel for the prosecution and the learned counsel for the accused colluded to frustrate justice. Is it that they colluded so that the accused can go away to enjoy the N14m which he illegally procured?”

He said, “With regard to the unchallenged evidence of PW5 and the evidence contained in Exhibit E1 (a portion of the accused person’s statement tendered by the prosecution) it is my humble view that the accused person conspired with Sam Egunibe to import 8.270kg of cocaine from Pakistan to Nigeria.”