A HIV/AIDS patient has found himself in even more trouble after he was found out to have committed a grievous crime.
Adeyemo Babatunde Akanni
Adeyemo Babatunde Akanni, alias Adeyanju Williams, an AIDS patient, has been sentenced to jail.
The man was sentenced to a two-year jail term by a Federal High
Court, sitting in Lagos, on Friday, for attempting to export 1.595
kilogrammes of heroin to France
According to Sahara Reporters, Akanni was arrested with the drug by
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on October 1, 2014, during an
outward clearance of an AirFrance flight to Paris, the French capital.
He was slammed with a one-count charge of unlawful exportation of the illicit drug. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
While proving his case against Akanni, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr.
Abu Ibrahim, called five witnesses and tendered several pieces of
evidence, including the seized banned drug, which the convict excreted;
his travel passport, confessional statements, the results of the
forensic test of the drug and a cash of €800 among other exhibits.
At the resumed trial of the matter on Friday, Mr. Ibrahim informed
the court of the convict's intention to change his plea, a submission
corroborated by his lawyer, Mrs. Lilian Omotunde.
Upon, the change of plea, the prosecutor tendered five more statements of the convict, which were also admitted as exhibits.
After tendering the evidence, Mr. Ibrahim urged the court to pronounce the suspect guilty as charged.
"My Lord, given the accused’s change of plea, coupled with the
extra five statements of the defendant, I urged the court to go ahead
and pronounce him guilty as charged," said the prosecutor.
Consequently, the presiding judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke,
declared Akanni guilty on a one-count charge of unlawful attempt of
exporting of 1.595 kilograms of heroin.
However, the convict's lawyer, in her plea for mercy, urged the court to pronounce a lenient sentence.
She told the court that the convict was a first-time offender, who
has shown remorse since his arrest. The lawyer added that Akanni has
consistently attended court proceedings despite his brittle health. To
support her claim of her client's health challenges, she tendered a
medical certificate dated May 13, 2016, endorsed by one Dr. Fatoki of
Lagos State General Hospital, Ikeja. The report showed that Akanni was
living with HIV/AIDS.
Mrs. Omotunde also cited Section 416(2)(D) and 420 of
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, while urging the court to
fine the accused person as an alternative to sending him to prison.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Aneke sentenced the convict to two years in jail starting from Friday.
The judge also ordered that the sum of €800 found on the convict at
the time of his arrest be forfeited and paid into the account of
Federal Government, while the seized drug be destroyed if there is no
appeal against the judgement within the stipulated time.
No comments:
Post a Comment