By Oluyinka Onigbinde
A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Adrienne Munju, a 41-year-old Canadian national, to 11 years in prison for importing 74 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic cannabis strain, into Nigeria. The drug, weighing 35.20 kilograms, was intercepted earlier this month.
Munju was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on October 3, 2024, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport’s Terminal 1 in Ikeja, Lagos. Her arrest took place during routine passenger clearance at the airport’s ‘D’ Arrival Hall for a KLM flight.
During her court appearance, Munju faced a two-count charge of drug trafficking, to which she pleaded guilty. Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, who presided over the case, sentenced her to six years imprisonment on the first count and five years on the second. However, the judge offered an alternative of a N50 million fine for each count, amounting to N100 million in total.
Following her arrest, Munju revealed that she was recruited online to traffic the drugs, with a promise of 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos. She claimed she accepted the offer to fund her master’s degree programme in Canada.
Earlier when the convict was arraigned, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Munju without lawful authority imported 35.20 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa, otherwise known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria.
Ibrahim said the incident occurred on or about 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, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Section 20(1), (a) and punishable under Section 20(2) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Following her guilty plea, Ibrahim informed the court of the readiness of the prosecution to review the facts of the case and a prosecution witness was called in to give evidence and tender relevant exhibits.
The prosecutor after reviewing the facts of the case urged the court to convict Munju, as charged, based on the evidence placed before the court, and the exhibits tendered and her guilty plea.
Justice Dipeolu, on reviewing the facts of the case as submitted by Ibrahim, convicted Munju as charged.
In his allocutus before the court, the counsel for Munju, Benson Ndakara, leading Dennis Warri, Kate Igbo and others pleaded with the court to have mercy on the convict.
“We plead for leniency on behalf of the convict, my Lord.
The convict pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity by not wasting the precious time of the court and has been very remorseful,” he said.
Ndakara added that the convict had vowed never to toe the path of criminality again and to be more careful in the future if given a second chance.
Speaking on the aggravating factor leading to the crime, Ndakara said the convict was deceived into taking the high risk and urged the court to be lenient in sentencing her.
The convict’s counsel also pleaded with the court to impose an option of fine on the convict instead of the custodian sentence, adding that the convict had no relatives or acquaintances in Nigeria and had been abandoned by everyone.
After listening to the defence counsel’s allocutus, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two or an option of N50m fine on each count.
Justice Dipeolu, however, ordered that both sentence and option of fine shall run concurrently.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, has emphasised the need for prompt conviction and severe sentencing of drug traffickers to deter foreigners from bringing illicit substances into Nigeria.
Marwa’s statement comes after a judgment on Canadian national Adrienne Munju was sentenced to 11 years in prison for importing 35.20 kilograms of synthetic cannabis, known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria.
The NDLEA boss commended the agency’s officers and the judiciary for their swift action in the case.
Munju’s conviction was secured under sections 19 and 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act, which prohibits the importation and possession of illicit drugs.
