Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 25 years in prison for smuggling 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Justice Egwuatu passed the sentence today, stressing that Nigerian law does not respect emotions, reports Channels TV.
In August, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned Ann before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into the country on July 6.
While delivering judgment, Justice Egwuatu held that, before entering her guilty plea, the defendant had admitted to committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement.
He added that the law is settled that a conviction follows a plea of guilty, and subsequently convicted her of the offence.
Following the conviction, the prosecution urged the court to consider the street value of heroin in sentencing the defendant, stating that one kilogramme of the drug is worth about N18 million.
Ann was given an opportunity to speak in mitigation. She promised never to engage in such an act again, expressed remorse and said she did not know there were illicit drugs in the bags.
After hearing from both parties and considering the defendant’s plea for leniency, the judge said “crime does not pay” and that the law is not influenced by “emotions.”
Justice Egwuatu consequently sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on Count 1 and 25 years’ imprisonment on Count 2, with the sentences to run concurrently. She will therefore serve a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The judge also ruled that if the convict does not appeal within the period prescribed by law, the heroin should be destroyed.
The NDLEA, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, had revealed that Ann was arrested in July while travelling with her three-year-old son.
According to the agency, Ann was arrested on Monday, July 6, during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433, arriving from Doha.
The NDLEA said the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked-in luggage before operatives established that two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin bore baggage tags matching the claim tags attached to her passport.
“Though she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, after operatives were able to quickly establish that the two bags containing the drugs had tags which tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport, she recanted and admitted ownership of the bags, adding that she forgot she checked in the two bags,” the statement read.
The agency said the suspect claimed she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja.
Upon arraignment, however, Ann admitted to conspiring with one Jan Coenraad De Jager, a South African man, in the act.
She was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and unlawful importation, punishable under Section 14 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
