Judiciary of Sierra Leone Communications, Main Law Courts Building, Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown, 5th December 2025: High Court Judge, Honourable Justice Mark Ngegba, has sentenced Nigerian national Iwuchukwu Ebere Christian to thirty (30) years imprisonment following his conviction of the offence of unlawful possession of 900.0 grams of cocaine contrary to section 8 (a) of the National Drugs Control Act of 2008, Act No. 10 of 2008.
Arraigned before the court, the defendant, as he was then, pleaded not guilty, for which the case proceeded to trial.
The State had alleged that Christian, on the 25th June 2025 at Lungi in the North-West Region of the Republic of Sierra Leone, was found in possession of 900.0 grams of cocaine without lawful authority.
In discharging their burden of proof against the defendant, prosecution witness Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Stevens, attached to the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU), told the court that he specialised in analysing drugs and other chemical substances. He said on the 30th June, 2025, he received a laboratory request from Detective Inspector Steven Alpha Turay to analyse forty-six (46) pellets of white powdered substance suspected to be cocaine.
ASP Stevens further testified that a test was conducted on the powdered substance, and the result revealed that the said substance found in the possession of the defendant was cocaine amounting to 900.0 grams.
When put to his election at the close of the prosecution’s case, the convict relied on his statement at the police.
In his analysis at the close of arguments, Hon. Justice Mark Ngegba said the prosecution had the responsibility to prove beyond reasonable doubt that what was found in the accused’s possession was cocaine.
He said the convict admitted that he was in possession of 46 pellets of cocaine but was unable to prove that he had the legal right to be in possession of the prohibited substance pursuant to law.
In conclusion, based on the totality of the evidence before the court, Justice Ngegba said the defendant was guilty of the offence charged.
In his allocutus, the convict pleaded for mercy, explaining that the drugs found in his possession were meant for transit purposes, which he came with from Nigeria by road to Sierra Leone and was intending to transit to Ecuador.
“My Lord, I was offered five thousand United States dollars if the transit would have been successful,” he revealed.
In his plea in mitigation, defence lawyer C. I. Williams said the convict is a foreign national, a father and principal carer.
Representing the State, Lawyer A. Jalloh said the court must take into consideration the nature of the crime, and the convict’s act will damage the good name of the country.
Pronouncing his judgement, Justice Mark Ngegba said, “I hold that the Prosecution has provided sufficient evidence to warrant a guilty verdict against the Defendant. Hence, the defendant is therefore found guilty as charged and is therefore sentenced to thirty years (30) imprisonment.”
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