Nigeria: Nollywood filmmaker jailed 5 years for trafficking 17.30kgs of cannabis
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 40-year-old Nollywood filmmaker, Mbadiwe Emeka, to five years imprisonment for trafficking 17.30 kilograms of Canada Loud, Cannabis Sativa, a narcotic drug similar to cocaine, LSD, and heroin.
Emeka, who was trained in the United States, pleaded guilty to the two counts of unlawful importation of the drug by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The court also ordered him to pay N3 million in lieu of the jail term and forfeit the bulk of the exhibit and an iPhone 12 pro-Max to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The NDLEA prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that Emeka was arrested on 24, 2025, during the examination of incoming cargo at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State. Emeka had allegedly procured one Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James to import the banned drug ¹.
The convict’s lawyer, Dennis Warri, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, considering Emeka’s timely guilty plea as a sign of remorse. However, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa handed down the five-year jail term, citing the severity of the offense.
