A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced 40-year-old America-trained Nollywood filmmaker, Mbadiwe Emeka, to five years imprisonment for trafficking 17.30 kilograms of Canada Loud, Cannabis Sativa, a narcotic drug similar to cocaine, LSD, and heroin.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa handed down the sentence after Emeka pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful importation of the drug.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned Emeka on the charges.
According to the NDLEA prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, Emeka was arrested on December 24, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The convict had allegedly procured one Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James to import the banned drug from Houston, USA.
Emeka’s lawyer, Dennis Warri, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, citing his client’s timely guilty plea as a sign of remorse.
However, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced Emeka to five years imprisonment, with an option to pay a fine of N3 million in lieu of the jail term.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the seized drugs and an iPhone 12 Pro Max to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
