Mother of four jailed for 10 years for trafficking cocaine to Saudi Arabia

Owolabi Oluwayemisi Modinat, a 56-year-old woman, was on Tuesday sentence to 10 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos for trafficking in cocaine.

She pleaded guilty to 1-count charge preferred against her by the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Modinat was arrested on May 19, 2017, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, during outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight to Saudi Arabia, with 330 grammes of Cocaine, a narcotic drug.
The NDLEA prosecutor, while reviewing the fact of the case, tendered the convict’s harmonized ECOWAS passport with number: 1808098653, an E-ticket and boarding pass as evidence.

The convict, in her plea for leniency through her lawyer, Morenike Ogunleye, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing her.

The mother of four said, “My Lord, the convict is a first time offender, and she is sober of her action. She is a mother of four children, who single-handedly taking care of them, as she has separated from her husband.
“In sentencing her, I urged my lord to consider section 416(2)(b)(d) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.”
The presiding Judge, Justice Rilwan Aikawa, pronounced the convict guilty as charged.
“I have listened to the plea made on her behalf by the counsel, and also listened to the prosecutor that she has no record of crime.

“Consequently, I hereby sentence her to 10 years imprisonment, starting from the day of her arrest.”

The offence is contrary to and punishable under section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.