A Federal High Court sitting in Kano has discharged and acquitted two men, Ibrahim Jega, 42, and Isah Mai-Gas, 41, for allegedly possessing 1,190 kilogrammes of Tramadol tablets.
The two accused were arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2016 on a two-count charge which bordered on conspiracy and possession of hard drugs.
The duo, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The trial judge, Justice J. K. Daggard set Jega and Mai-Gas free after finding them not guilty of the offences.
“The prosecution failed to prove his case beyond every reasonable doubt.
“The testimony of the prosecution witnesses failed to establish that the defendants actually committed the offences,“ the judge ruled.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mr A.G. Yuanyam, had told the court that the duo committed the offences on March 28, 2016 at Ibrahim Babangida Way, Kano.
He told the court that on the same date the accused conspired with one Malam Babangida, still at large, to be in the unlawful possession of 1,190kg of Tramadol tablets, a narcotic drug.
According to Yuanyam, the offences contravened Sections 14(b), 20(1) (a) and punishable under Section 20 (2) of the NDLEA Act, Cap No 30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Five witnesses appear for the prosecution.
Two Defence Counsel, Mr B.S. Idris and Mr C.O. Asogwa, told the court that the prosecution failed to produce the main principal suspect, Malam Babangida, who is still at large, but believed to be the owner of the drugs.
“The first defendant, Jega, was at IBB Way when NDLEA officials came and search him without finding any drugs in his possession.
“The second defendant, Mai-Gas, was in Kebbi State on March 27, 2016, a day before the incident. He is a driver and was only given the goods to be transported to Kebbi without knowing what was inside the cartons,’’ the lawyers told the court.
The defence counsel thus urged the court to discharge and acquit the two accused.
