Drug Baron Jail For 20-years

As part of  Nigeria’s efforts to curb and eradicate drug trafficking , a drug baron, Akindele Ikumoluyi (popularly known as  Hakeem Ile-Eru) has been , sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by Justice Tijani Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Lagos, for exporting a and importing 11kgs of cocaine.

The judge sentenced Ikumoluyi to five years imprisonment on each of the four charges preferred against him and held that the sentence would run concurrently from the date of his arrest.

He said, “the facts I rely on, to convict the accused persons are the statements of the Fatia Olori, Ruth Abodiya (co-conspirators of the accused), the bulk 11kgs of cocaine and the forensic reports.”

The prosecuting National Drug Law Enforcement Agency re- arraigned Ikumoluyi on two separate amended charges that contained two-counts each.

The convict who pleaded guilty to each of the four-count, had in 2006, pleaded not guilty and had been in prison custody since March 14, 2006.

NDLEA’s Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, urged the court to convict Ikumoluyi in line with his change of plea and in accordance with section 218 of the NDLEA Act.

Oloruntoba also urged the court to rely on all the exhibits the NDLEA tendered before the court while convicting the accused.

 

NP/Qasim