Court s£ntences Lagos socialite to 45 years imprisonment for cocaine trafficking

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a Lagos-based socialite and drug kingpin, Funmilola Arike Ogbuaya, popularly known as Ariket, to 45 years’ imprisonment for the unlawful exportation of 1.595 kilograms of cocaine to Saudi Arabia.

The judge specifically handed down a 15-year sentence on each of the three counts bordering on conspiracy, possession, and illegal exportation of cocaine.

The court, however, ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, meaning the convict will serve 15 years effective from 19 May 2017, the date of her arrest.

The court had earlier found Ogbuaya guilty on all counts but adjourned sentencing following a request by her counsel.

The case, marked FHC/L/124C/2017, stemmed from the arrest of Ogbuaya’s co-defendant, Odeyemi Omolara, also known as Ariyo Monsurat Olabisi, who was apprehended on 23 February 2017 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.