A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced Adrienne Munju, a 41-year-old Canadian woman, to 11 years in prison for bringing 35.20 kilograms of Canadian Loud (Cannabis Sativa) into Nigeria.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, who delivered the verdict, also granted her the option of paying a N100 million fine on the two counts filed against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Following Munju’s guilty pleas on both charges, the judge convicted and sentenced her.
Earlier, when the defendant was arraigned, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Munju unlawfully brought 35.20 kilograms of Cannabis sativa, also known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria.
Ibrahim stated that the incident occurred on or around October 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of inbound passengers on the KLM flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the prosecutor, the act committed violated Section 20(1)(a) and was punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, Munju pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against her.
Following her guilty plea, Ibrahim notified the court that the prosecution was ready to review the facts of the case, and a prosecution witness was called in to give evidence and provide pertinent materials.
After analysing the circumstances of the case, the prosecution requested the court to condemn Munju as charged, based on the evidence presented, the materials submitted, and her guilty plea.
After considering the facts of the case given by Ibrahim, Justice Dipeolu convicted Munju as accused.
In his allocutus before the court, Munju’s counsel, Benson Ndakara, led by Dennis Warri, Kate Igbo, and others, pleaded with the court to show mercy to the convicted.
“We plead for leniency on behalf of the convict, my Lord.
The defendant pleaded guilty at the earliest chance to avoid wasting the court’s valuable time and has expressed deep regret,” he said.
Ndakara went on to say that the offender had promised never to return to criminal activity and to be more cautious in the future if given a second opportunity.
Speaking about the aggravating aspect leading to the crime, Ndakara stated that the convict was duped into taking the high risk and begged the court to be lenient in sentencing her.
The convict’s counsel also pleaded with the court to impose a fine on him instead of a custodial term, claiming that the convict had no relatives or connections in Nigeria and had been abandoned by everyone.
After hearing the defence counsel’s allocutus, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years in jail on count one and five years on count two, with the option of a N50 million fine on each.
However, Justice Dipeolu decided that both the sentence and the option of fine run concurrently.
Munju was detained by NDLEA agents on October 3, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for importing a huge shipment of a potent strain of synthetic cannabis known as ‘Canadian Loud’.
The convict was apprehended during the inbound clearance of passengers on a KLM airline flight from Canada at Lagos International Airport’s Terminal 1.
According to information from the anti-narcotic agency, “During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne, who was in Nigeria for the first time, was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilograms, stuffed in two of her three bags.
“In her statement, she claimed she was recruited to traffic the consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos.
“She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing Master’s degree program in Canada.”
