The Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics is expected to work on the bill to close the gaps in the drug law and submit its report to the whole house in a fortnight.
The new law is expected to address some areas especially, the alleged illegality being perpetrated by some federal high court judges who exploit the loopholes in the current National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act 2004 to award frivolous penalties to accused persons is contrary to the stipulations of the law.
The sponsor of the new law, Senator Dinka Hezekiah Ayuba (APC – Plateau Central), told his colleagues that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N 30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 provides for stringent penalties for persons involved in the importation and exportation of hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin. The minimum penalty is 15 years of life imprisonment. He, however, said some judges are not awarding penalties that are consistent with the stipulations of the law.
He cited the Supreme Court in the case of Odeh V Federal Republic of Nigeria (2008) page 147 that the minimum penalty for those dealing in such hard drugs is a term 15 years, for some unknown reasons, some judges of the Federal High Court have continued to pass ridiculously light and illegal sentences on those convicted.
“Rather than a term of imprisonment of 15 years, the maximum sentence passed on any convict was a term of 3 years for heroin. Some of these have been as low as 4 months imprisonment for 1.44Kgs of cocaine”.
A gramme of cocaine sells for over N4 million naira in the market but noted that some of the Judges pass light terms of imprisonment, while they also give convicts options of fines which are not provided for under the NDLEA Act. These options of fine ranges from N150, 000 to N 500,000.
“Where a person caught with cocaine worth N4million is given an option, to pay a fine of N200,000 as was done in one case, what signals is the Country sending to the drug Barons, their Couriers, our youths and the International Communities?
“Furthermore, because these penalties have been decided by some judges based solely on their arbitrary rather than the law, there has been no consistency in the sentence passed on the various convicts with regard to the quantity of Hard Drugs found on them.
“For instance, one person found with 844gms of cocaine was given a term of 2 years imprisonment while another person found with 2.2g of cocaine was given a term of 11 months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine.
“Again, another person found with 160grammes of cocaine was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine, while a convict found with 4.8kg of cocaine was given a term of imprisonment of 8 months.
“The arbitrariness that is being perpetrated by the trial judges by not following the provisions of the NDLEA Act clearly can lead to corrupt practices and encouragement of the drug trade”, he argued.
Consequently, the lawmaker, attributed the increase in drug trafficking activities in the country to illegal and light sentences by trial Judges of the Federal High Court.
“Mr. President, my Distinguished Colleagues, you may have noticed that there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of drug couriers apprehended at our Airports, this is a direct consequence of these illegal sentences invented by some judges,” he said.
According to Ayuba, the rather expensive and rigorous process for the NDLEA to appeal such cases of illegality may take a long time – somewhere between waiting for seven (7) to ten (10) years for final adjudication.
The lawmaker added that “the proposed amendment to the NDLEA Act will close any loophole by having a clear, unambiguous and unequivocal provision that Judges cannot vary the sentences provided by the Act by reducing the penalties or giving options of fines which the NDLEA Act has not provided for.
“The urgency of the proposed amendment is underscored by the fact that within the first eight (8) months of last year, 94 cases fell within this category.
“As the news of these light sentences spread, more people are encouraged to go into the drug trade, hence the phenomenal rise in the number of person apprehended at our airports, and the continued damage to the lives of our youths and our images in the international community.”
On other aspects of amendments to the Act, he said, “there is equally a minor but significant error in the principal Act. The word ”heroine”. The two words mean different things and are not synonymous.
“An amendment is therefore being proposed to change the word ”heroine” which means a girl or woman who does something brave or good to ”heroin” which means a powerful illegal drug made from morphine which is intended in the Act.
“The last amendment being sought concerns the penalty for obstructing the Agency or an authorized officer of the Agency in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on the Agency. The principal Act imposes a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or to a fine of N 20,000 or both.
“The amendment is seeking to increase the option of fine from N 20,000 to N 100,000 because the economic reality in Nigeria today has rendered the N 20,000 fine, paltry and unrealistic.”
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