A Lagos Federal High Court on Thursday convicted and sentenced a businessman, Uyiosa Omoregie, to a year imprisonment for unlawful exportation of drugs.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA filed two court cases against Omoregie bordering on the unlawful exportation of the prohibited drugs of 3.60 kilograms of tramadol and 400 kilograms of Rohypnol.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu reportedly handed down the sentence after Omoregie pleaded guilty to two counts.
The NDLEA prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the convict was arrested on July 16, 2025, at the Tarmac Baggage Hall Basement of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
He told the court that Omoregie was found with 3.60 kilograms of tramadol, a narcotic analgesic, and 400 grams of Rohypnol, a psychotropic substance, which he intended to export to Pakistan.
According to Punch, the prosecutor said the arrest was carried out by a joint team of aviation security officers and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives.
The prosecutor noted that the offences committed contravened section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Following his guilty plea and the evidence presented, the prosecution urged the court to convict and sentence the convict in line with Section 274(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
However, the defence counsel, Dennis Warri, pleaded for leniency, asking the court to impose a non-custodial sentence or a fine instead of imprisonment.
In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Omoregie to one year imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, and granted him an option of N7m fine in place of the custodial sentence.
The judge also ordered that the drugs be forfeited to the Federal Government.
