Three men were given 10 months in prison each on Thursday for marijuana possession by a Dei-dei Grade I Area Court in Abuja.
Mallanta Lawal, Lawal Mohammed, and Sani Lawali—all of no fixed abode—were found guilty and entered pleas of guilty, pleading with the judge to show them mercy.
Lawal, Mohammed, and Lawali were sentenced based on their guilty pleas, Justice Sulyman Ola held in his ruling.
“Having determined that the defendants were guilty of the offence, the court offers them the option to pay an N40,000 fine in accordance with their request for mercy and as first-time offenders who did not abuse the court’s resources or time,” he said.
He claimed that those who would want to commit any crime would be discouraged by the verdict.
The defendants were charged with two counts of joint acts and possession of dry leaves believed to be marijuana, the prosecution’s attorney, Mr. Chinedu Ogada, earlier informed the court.
According to Ogada, the criminals were detained on June 28 at around 6 p.m. in Mabushi by a group of police officers under the direction of CSP Sadiq Abubakar, Divisional Police Officer, Mabushi, Abuja.
According to the prosecution attorney, all three suspects confessed to the crime during the police investigation.
