A veteran guitarist, Fatoke Abiodun, was
on Tuesday sentenced to three years imprisonment for drug trafficking
at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
The 62-year-old Abiodun was a former guitarist with King Sunny Ade, a foremost Nigerian musician.
Abiodun had...
pleaded guilty to one count
of unlawful exportation of 1.575kg of cocaine during his arraignment on
February 26, 2013.
Prior to the judgment, defence counsel,
Mr. Bayo Onifade, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as
Abiodun was a husband of three wives with 12 children.
Justice S. Seidu, however, sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment with effect from the date of arrest.
Abiodun had blamed poverty for his predicament.
He said, “I can play any kind of guitar
but my music career is a sad story. I played for King Sunny Ade for 30
years before I was unceremoniously retired in 2007 without severance
benefit. I was unprepared for it and I saw the bitter side of life. This
is my first time of trafficking drugs. I did it out of frustration
because at my age, I could not provide for my family. I am ashamed of
myself.”
Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, however, said stiffer penalty should be meted out to drug offenders.
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Sad!
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