Nigeria: Court Jails Canada Returnee 11 Years for Importing, Possessing 2.5kg of Cannabis

What the report says

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a Canadian-based Nigerian, Abimbola Daniel, to 11 years in prison for unlawfully importing and possessing 2.5 kilograms of cannabis, according to Leadership, which was republished by AllAfrica. The judgment was delivered by Justice Akintayo Aluko after Daniel entered a guilty plea to a two-count charge brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The court heard that the prohibited substance was brought into Nigeria from Canada on an Ethiopian Airlines flight and concealed in cargo that arrived through the Customs Import Shed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos. The prosecution said Daniel used a cargo clearing company to retrieve the shipment and was arrested when he came to collect it. Exhibits recovered by the agency were presented in court and admitted as evidence.

After considering the plea, the evidence and arguments from both sides, the judge imposed five years on one count and six years on the second, with the terms adding up to 11 years. The court also offered Daniel the option of paying fines in place of prison time: N500,000 for the first count and N600,000 for the second.

The case highlights the continued enforcement of Nigeria’s drug laws against trafficking through international routes. More broadly, the NDLEA has regularly pursued narcotics cases involving air cargo and couriers, especially at major entry points such as Lagos airport, where customs and drug control agencies work together to intercept suspected shipments.