NDLEA PARADES 17-YR-OLD SECONDARY SCHOOL LEAVER, 14 OTHERS OVER DRUGS

Lagos -- A 17-year-old secondary school leaver was one of the fifteen
suspects paraded for drug peddling yesterday by the Murtala Mohammed
International Airport, Ikeja, arm of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA).

The school leaver, (names with-held) was arrested with 840 grammes of
cocaine which he ingested and another 1.3kg of the same substance concealed
in a bag January 22, 2004, while trying to board a British Airways flight
to London.

On interrogation, the suspect told NDLEA officials that the bag containing
the 1.3kg of heroine was given to him to deliver to a recipient at Ostaley
Park Hotel London by a friend he simply called Dapo.

Also paraded were 14 others (names with-held). Speaking while parading the
suspects, the agency's director of prosecution, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, said
the young school leaver would be prosecuted, even though he is only 17
years old.

14-17 Yr-Old Suspects Can Be Prosecuted

According to him, suspects within the range of 14 to 17 years old can be
prosecuted, depending on the circumstance surrounding their involvement in
drug peddling.

"There is what is called criminal responsibility and it is a matter of age.
!4 years and above can be prosecuted, depending on the circumstance. If the
teenager is used innocently, he can be freed, but the parents would be
warned for not providing adequate care.

"Fourteen years is the benchmark; therefore, 17 years old suspect can be
prosecuted, depending again on the circumstances," said the director of
public prosecution.

61 Suspects Jailed In 2003

He noted that no fewer than 61 suspects arrested within the MMIA last year
were prosecuted and sentenced to various jail terms, stressing that one
major obstacle which often stand between the NDLEA and prompt prosecution
of suspects was the exclusive jurisdiction of Federal High Courts over drug
peddling cases.

He also blamed inadequate number of judges in Federal High Courts for the
delay in prosecution of suspects, and called for an amendment to the
country's statute books to enable State High Courts handle drug-related cases.

Commander of the NDLEA at the airport, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam, told
newsmen that the agency destroyed 359.202 hectares of cannabis farm in Ondo
State alone in 2003, as according to him, the state remains the most
notorious in cannabis farming in the country.

Danburam, who noted that no fewer than 196 suspects were arrested at the
airport last year, with accompanying seizure of 759.780kg of various hard
drug type and psychotropic substances, warned drug peddlers to steer clear
of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport or risk being caught.