A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced a female South African national identified as Jessica Ann to 25 years imprisonment for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who convicted and sentenced Ann after she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing the heroin, stated that crime does not pay and that the law is not influenced by ’emotions’.
Daily Trust reports that Ann was arrested by the operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Monday, July 6, 2026, when she imported the substance into the country.
The spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, while confirming Ann’s arrest, explained that she was nabbed during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433, arriving from Doha. The NDLEA noted that the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked-in luggage before operatives established that two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin bore baggage tags matching the claim tags attached to her passport.
‘Though she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, after operatives were able to quickly establish that the two bags containing the drugs had tags which tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport, she recanted and admitted ownership of the bags, adding that she forgot she checked in the two bags,’ Babafemi had stated.
The anti-narcotics agency said the suspect claimed she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja.
However, NDLEA subsequently arraigned Ann in August before the Court, where she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes.
Specifically, she was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and unlawful importation, punishable under Section 14 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Upon arraignment, Ann admitted to conspiring with one Jan Coenraad De Jager, a South African man, in the act.
Delivering his judgement on Thursday, Justice Egwuatu held that, before entering her guilty plea, the defendant had admitted to committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement.
He added that the law is settled that a conviction follows a plea of guilty, and subsequently convicted her of the offence.
Following the conviction, the prosecution urged the court to consider the street value of heroin in sentencing the defendant, stating that one kilogramme of the drug is worth about N18 million.
Ann was given an opportunity to speak in mitigation. She promised never to engage in such an act again, expressed remorse and said she did not know there were illicit drugs in the bags.
But after hearing from both prosecution and the convict, the judge ruled that if the convict does not appeal within the period prescribed by law, the heroin should be destroyed.
‘Crime does not pay and that the law is not influenced by emotions,’ the judge stated this while considering the defendant’s plea for leniency.
The judge consequently sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on Count 1 and 25 years’ imprisonment on Count 2, with the sentences to run concurrently.
She will, therefore, serve a maximum of 25 years in prison.