A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Ann, to 25 years in prison for trafficking 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the judgment on Thursday, ruling that the law “does not respect emotions.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ann was arrested in July while attempting to smuggle the drugs through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. She was intercepted during inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight arriving from Doha, and was travelling with her three-year-old son at the time.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned her before the court in August, where she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing the heroin on July 6.
In delivering judgment, Justice Egwuatu noted that Ann had, prior to her guilty plea, admitted committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement, and that under settled law, a conviction follows a plea of guilty. He convicted her accordingly.
After conviction, the prosecution urged the court to consider the street value of the drugs — about N18 million per kilogram — in sentencing.
Ann pleaded for leniency, telling the court she was remorseful, had not known there were illicit drugs in the bag, and would never repeat the offence.
The judge, however, was unmoved, declaring that “crime does not pay” and that sentencing would not be swayed by emotion. He sentenced her to 15 years on Count 1 and 25 years on Count 2, with the terms to run concurrently — meaning she will serve a total of 25 years.
Justice Egwuatu ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal within the legally prescribed period.
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