The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two men, John Kanu, and Obinna Eze, to four years imprisonment each, for conspiracy and unlawful possession of 839.4kg of Pangolin Scales and 145kg of Elephant Tusks.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo handed down the jail term, after the men pleaded guilty to the charges made against them by the Federal Operation Unit, Zone A, of the Nigerian Customs Services, Lagos.
The two convicts were arraigned alongside one Anthony Onyebuchi and Monday Nnamanni, in an amended charge marked FHC/L/123c/22.
The defendants and others were arrested as a result of joint wildlife enforcement operations by the Nigeria Customs Service and Wildlife Justice Commission, targeting illegal wildlife traders and traffickers from Africa to Asia.
The four defendants had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were first arraigned before the court.
But, at the resumed hearing of the charge on Wednesday, Messrs Eze and Kanu informed the court of their intention to change their plea, which was granted by the court.
The presiding judge then ordered that the amended charge be read to them.
The two convicts pleaded guilty to the charges, while Anthony Onyebuchi and Monday Nnamanni pleaded not guilty.
With the convicts’ guilty plea, the prosecutors – David Ereh, Michael Osong and Abidemi Aluko, while reviewing the case of the charge, told the court that the convicts and others on February 2, 2022, conspired among themselves to warehouse the prohibited items, at Adeba in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.
The prosecutors told the court that the convicts’ actions contravened sections 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; Section 7(3) of the National Environmental (Protection of Endangered Species in International Trade) Regulations, 2011 and punishable under section 7(4) of the same Regulations, as well as section 5(1) of the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) (Amendment) Act, 2016 and punishable under section 5(1)(a) of the same Act.
The prosecutors urged the court to convict those that pleaded guilty to the charges and sentence them according to the extant laws.
They also asked the court for a trial date for those that pleaded not guilty.
But their lawyer, Chukwu Agwu, in his allocutus pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, in sentencing his clients.
Mr. Agwu told the court that the convicts are first time offenders, who did not have previous conviction records, and that the court should consider that the convicts did not waste the precious time of the court by going to trial.
In his judgment, Justice Oweibo sentenced the two convicts to two years each on counts one and two, while pardoned them on count tree.
The judge also adjourned till September 28, for the trial of the remaining two defendants.
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