Justice
Okeke held that the prosecution had discharged its burden of proof by proving
its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I
do not believe the testimonies of the accused, when they alleged that they were
business associates.
“The
accused did not lead any evidence to substantiate the claims that they were
actually partners doing genuine business.
“The
accused are hereby convicted as charged.
“On
count one, the accused are sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, while on counts
two they are sentenced to five years imprisonment.
“The
terms of imprisonment are to run concurrently,” Okeke ruled.
He
added that the sentence of the first convict, Obi, would start running from the
date of conviction, while he ordered the sentence of Ugwu to start running from
March 3, 2011 when they were first arraigned.
The
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned the convicts, on a
two-count charge of unlawful importation of 165 Kilogrammes of Cocaine from
Bolivia into Nigeria.
The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Agency arraigned the
convicts on March 3, 2011, before the court.
They
were arrested at the Murtala Mohammed Airport by the NDLEA, in January 2011,
during clearance of passengers and the drugs recovered from them.
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