A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a Lagos-based socialite, Mrs. Funmilola Arike Ogbuaya, popularly known as Ariket, to 45 years imprisonment for the unlawful exportation of 1.595 kilogrammes of cocaine to Saudi Arabia.

The presiding judge, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, sentenced the convict to 15 years on each of the three-count charges of conspiracy, unlawful possession, and illegal exportation of narcotic drugs.

The court, however, ordered that the sentences shall run concurrently, meaning she will effectively serve 15 years, beginning from May 19, 2017, the date of her arrest.

Justice Dipeolu had earlier on Tuesday found Ariket guilty of the three-count amended charge and convicted her accordingly, but deferred sentencing until yesterday at the request of her counsel.

The charge, marked FHC/L/124c/2017 and dated May 2, 2017, alleged that Ariket conspired with others, including one Mrs. Odeyemi Omolara a.k.a. Ariyo Monsurat Olabisi and another suspect still at large, to export cocaine out of Nigeria.

The co-accused, Omolara, was arrested on February 23, 2017, during outward clearance of passengers on an Egypt Air flight at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Upon her arrest, she reportedly made a spontaneous outcry implicating Ariket, saying “Arike has killed me,” which drew the attention of security operatives.

During interrogation, Omolara allegedly confessed that Ariket was the person who gave her the bag containing the illicit drugs for transportation to Saudi Arabia.

Omolara had since been convicted and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in 2017 by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, following her guilty plea to drug trafficking offences.

Justice Shagari is now a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

While Omolara admitted guilt, Ariket maintained her innocence throughout the trial and pleaded not guilty.

During the proceedings, a prosecution witness, Mrs. Iyabode Shonibare, the arresting officer, told the court that Omolara, upon arrest at the airport, repeatedly implicated Ariket, shouting that she was responsible for her predicament.

Another prosecution witness corroborated that Omolara, during interrogation, consistently maintained that Ariket handed her the bag containing the cocaine.

However, Ariket’s security guard, Aliyu, gave a different account in court.

He testified that Omolara had visited Ariket’s residence a day before her arrest and spent the night there.

He further stated that she only carried her phone when she arrived and was later driven to the airport by Ariket the following morning.

Aliyu also told the court that three days before Omolara’s arrest, two men had visited the residence in a Sienna vehicle in search of Ariket, carrying a bag similar to the one later taken to the airport.

He said he received the bag from them and took it inside the house.

According to him, the same bag was later taken by Ariket when she drove Omolara to the airport on the day of the arrest.

In her own defence, Ariket admitted knowing Omolara but denied giving her any illegal substance.

She told the court that Omolara visited her home to request financial assistance and that she gave her N10,000.

She further stated that Omolara slept in her house and later requested to be dropped at the airport, claiming she was travelling to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj.

Ariket said she dropped her at the airport before proceeding to Ladipo Market to pick up her driver for a trip to Ajase in the Republic of Benin.

She added that she only became aware of the arrest later that day when her daughter informed her that NDLEA operatives had raided her residence.

After evaluating the arguments of both the prosecution and defence, Justice Dipeolu held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Ariket on all three counts.

In her allocutus, counsel from the chambers of Ariket’s lead counsel, Mr. Yakubu Galadima, pleaded for leniency, describing the convict as a first-time offender who had shown remorse.

She urged the court to consider her health condition, age, and dependants in sentencing.

The three-count amended charge against the defendants alleged conspiracy, unlawful exportation, and unlawful possession of 1.595 kilogrammes of cocaine, offences said to be contrary to Sections 14(b), 11(b), and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

(THISDAY, but headline rejigged)

Update news