Justice Deinde Dipeolu of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a drug peddler, Oluwafemi Williams, to three years imprisonment for dealing in one kilogramme of Cannabis sativa, popularly called marijuana.

However, in his judgment on Friday, the judge gave the 30-year-old convict an option of a N400,000 fine. The prosecutor, N. J. Mamza, had told the court that Williams was arrested on May 1 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where he was selling the prohibited substance.

Mamza told the court that the convict’s offence contravened Section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N.30 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 and was punishable under the same Act.

Upon reading the charge to the convict, he admitted selling the prohibited “weed” and pleaded guilty. Based on his plea, the prosecutor urged the court to convict and sentence him in accordance with the law.

However, the defence counsel, Bolanle Kolawole, urged the court to consider his client’s timely guilty plea and give him a non-custodial sentence .

The counsel also urged the court to fine the convict in lieu of the jail term. Justice Dipeolu, having confirmed that Williams is a first-time offender without any record of previous conviction, sentenced him to three years imprisonment.

The charge against the defendant reads: “That you, Oluwafemi Williams, adult, male, 30 years old, on or about May 1, 2024, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, without lawful authority dealt in 1kg of Cannabis, a narcotic drug similar to cocaine, heroin, and LSD, and thereby committed an offence as provided for and punishable under Section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N.30 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.”