A Federal High Court in Nigeria has sent a former footballer identified as Okafor Emmanuel Junior to five years imprisonment for drug trafficking.
According to the country’s law enforcement body known as National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Emmanuel was arrested by its operatives upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, with 1.4 kilograms of cocaine.
He entered Nigeria from Brazil on September 26, 2022.
The offense contravened section 11(a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under the same Act.
After he pleaded guilty to the charges, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence him in accordance with the section of the law he was charged with.
His lawyer, Dennis Warri, however, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing him as he has become remorseful since he was arrested and vowed not to get involved in crime.
The court then sentenced Emmanuel to five years imprisonment, starting from the date of his arrest.
The judge also gave him an option of a one million fine in lieu of the jail terms.
The 33-year-old indigene of Abia State was arrested on September 26, 2022 after anti-narcotic officers discovered that he concealed the illicit substance in the handles of his bags and padded the top edges of the bags with the Class A drug.
Okafor, upon interrogation, claimed to be a footballer with a top Nigerian university, where he played for four seasons before leaving for Sri Lanka in 2014.
He later moved to Brazil from Sri Lanka after playing for two seasons but could not advance his football career in Brazil due to lack of official documents.
