Court jails four Anambra traders for selling fake drugs

A Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, presided over by
Justice A. Abubakar, has sentenced four traders to six years in
prison for dealing in fake drugs.

The convicts, Anayo Okoye, Ifeanyi Onuoha, Chukwudozie Eze and
Okechukwu Nwafor, will serve 18 months each in prison.

They were found guilty of possessing and selling counterfeit and
substandard drugs bearing forged trademarks.

Their lawyer, E. O. Ego, had earlier pleaded with the court to
temper justice with mercy considering the fact that the convicts
were first time offenders and had families to cater for.

Delivering judgement, Justice Abubakar held that the accused
should serve a prison term of 18 months each.

Abubakar ordered that the jail term should run concurrently
since one of the convicts had already been in detention for about
five years.

The prosecutor, Mr Nwokoro Emmanuel, who is a zonal legal
officer, Federal Ministry of Justice, Enugu, hailed the judgment,
describing it as a step in the right direction.

He said, “The judgment is a step in the right direction because
that will send a warning signal to all those out there peddling
fake drugs in the society. I do know that a lot of people have died
as a result of fake drugs and this judgment will help in stopping
that. We are there to ensure that people are safe in the
society.

“To me, the judgment is okay. What is important is that it will
serve as a deterrent to the public. It is aimed at stopping the
people from indulging in the wrong acts.”

The convicts were initially arraigned before a Federal High
Court in Lagos but the case was transferred to the Federal High
Court in Awka.

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