The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Will Ann, a 38-year-old South African woman, to 25 years in prison for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
Obiora Egwuatu, the judge, handed down the sentence on Thursday after Ann pleaded guilty to the charges filed against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Ann was arraigned before the court in August after the NDLEA accused her of importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into the country.
According to the anti-drug agency, Ann was arrested in July during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR1433, which arrived from Doha at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The NDLEA said Ann was travelling with her three-year-old son when she was arrested and initially denied travelling with check-in bags.
The agency said she later admitted ownership of two bags after its operatives established that the tags on the bags matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
The NDLEA also disclosed that Ann’s husband was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
The judgment
Following Ann’s guilty plea, the prosecution asked the court to consider the value of the heroin in determining her sentence, informing the court that one kilogramme of the substance is worth about N18 million.
Ann, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying she was remorseful and would not engage in such an act again.
She also told the court that she did not know there were illicit drugs in the bags.
In his judgment, Egwuatu said Ann had admitted to committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement before subsequently pleading guilty in court.
The judge said the law was settled that a conviction follows a guilty plea and consequently convicted Ann of the offence.
While sentencing her, Egwuatu said “crime does not pay” and that the law does not recognise “emotions”.
He sentenced Ann to 15 years’ imprisonment on count one and 25 years on count two, directing that the sentences run concurrently.
With the concurrent sentences, Ann will spend 25 years in prison.
The judge also ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal the judgment within the period prescribed by law.