Mahmud Hassan, a retired Customs officer, and two others were sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for conspiracy and unlawful importation of 661 pump-action rifles by the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday.
In addition, they were convicted of unlawful importation of prohibited firearms, forgery, uttering of forged documents, and bribery.
Others who were convicted by Justice Ayokunle Faji included Oskar Okafor, Donatus Achinulo, and Mahmud’s company, Hassan Trades Limited.
Abdulahi Danjuma was acquitted and discharged from all the charges by Justice Faji after a five-hour reading of the verdict. The first prosecutor, Julius Ajakaye, and one of the defence counsels, Adamu Ibrahim, both passed away during the four-year trial.
Having delivered judgment on the charge of illegal importation of 661 pump-action rifles into the country, the judge sentenced each defendant to eight years imprisonment on the said charge.
According to Justice Faji, the defendants one, two, three and four are all guilty of count one (conspiracy) and each sentenced to eight years in prison.
Likewise, the judge ordered that the properties of the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria as provided for by the law under which they were charged, as well as that the company, Hassan Trading Limited, used for smuggling, be closed and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.
Justice Faji, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant.
According to him, the offence committed by the convicts impacted the security of the country. The relevant provisions of law for the offence for which they were charged and convicted prescribed life imprisonment, but that the court had discretion.
Although the trial judge said he would not give the maximum punishment, he added that the convicts must serve as an example for other would-be criminals. The convicts were charged with importing 661 pump-action rifles into the country.
Those convicted before Justice Faji were Mahmud Hassan, Oscar Okafor, Donatus Achinulo, and Salihu Danjuma, while Matthew Okoye remained at large.
Moreover, they forged a bill of lading issued in Istanbul on January 9, 2017, claiming that it had been issued in Shanghai, China.
In an attempt to avoid paying customs duty, steel doors were said to have been filled into the container instead of rifles.
Additionally, the prosecution alleged that the first convict, Hassan, corruptly gave N1m to government officials at the Apapa Port to prevent the search by Customs officials.
However, the accused pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
The sentences, according to the judge will run concurrently.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
