For unlawful possession of 839.4kg of Pangolin Scales and 145kg of Elephant Tusks, John Kanu, and Obinna Eze, have been sent to two years imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Nigeria.
The two were found guilty of the offence and convicted by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, after they pleaded guilty to the charges made against them by the Federal Operation Unit, Zone A, of the Nigerian Customs Services, Lagos.
The convicts and the two men had pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were formerly arraigned before the court.
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However, at the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the two convicts informed the court of their intention to change their plea, which was granted by the court.
The prosecutors urge the court to convict those that pleaded guilty to the charges and sentence them according to the sections of the laws that they were charges with. While also asked the court for trial date against those that pleaded not guilty.
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But their lawyer, Mr. Chukwu Agwu, in his allucutor, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy, in sentencing his client.
Agwu told the court that the convicts were first term offenders, who did not have previous conviction record, further urging the court to consider that the convicts did not waste precious time of the court.
In his judgment, Justice Oweibo sentenced the two convicts to two years each on count one and two, while pardoned them on count tree.
The judge has adjourned till September 28, for the trial of the remaining two defendants.
