As a result of his involvement in the unlawful exportation of 8.30 kilograms of Raphnol, a psychotropic substance under international control... The post Illegal Raphnol export: Businessman, Bob-Manuel, bags four-year jail term appeared first on Tribune Online .
As a result of his involvement in the unlawful exportation of 8.30 kilograms of Raphnol, a psychotropic substance under international control, a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Akintayo Aluko, has convicted and sentenced a businessman and Chief Executive Officer of G Care Pharm Limited, Megwalu Chukwudi Bob-Manuel, to four years imprisonment.
The judge arrived at the verdict after the convict pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on unlawful procurement and exportation of prohibited drugs.
Justice Aluko declared that the four-year term on each count would run concurrently, adding that the sentence is taking effect from the date of his arrest.
The judge equally granted a N1 million option of fine in lieu of a jail term.
Bob-Manuel’s conviction came consequent upon his prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
While addressing Justice Aluko, the counsel for the NDLEA, Arit Okon, stated that the convict committed the offence on July 24, 2026, at the NAHCO Export Shed, a Customs area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The lawyer told the court that during the examination of a consignment bound for Nairobi, Kenya, Bob-Manuel procured one Justina of Tina Travels Service Limited and one Anosie Ebube of Fair Express to facilitate the exportation of 8.30 kg of Raphnol without lawful authority.
The NDLEA also accused Bob-Manuel of attempting to export the psychotropic substance personally to Nairobi, Kenya.
The anti-narcotics agency insisted that the offences contravene Section 21(2)(c) and Section 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and are punishable under Section 11(b) of the same Act.
However, due to Bob-Manuel’s guilty plea, Okon reviewed the facts of the case, tendered exhibits through a prosecution witness, and urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
But the counsel for the convict, Chief Benson Ndakara, pleaded for mercy, arguing that his client did not waste the court’s time, is a first-time offender with no previous criminal record, thereby pleaded for a noncustodial sentence.
In his judgment on the charge marked FHC/L/CR/661/2026, Justice Aluko considered the quantity of the controlled substance and the allocutus by the defence, and sentenced the convict to four years on each count, to run concurrently, with an option of a N1 million fine.
