Jonathan Nuhu sentenced to 15 years for cannabis trafficking in Kano, reinforcing NDLEA’s commitment to fighting drug crimes in Nigeria

A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced 45-year-old Jonathan Nuhu to 15 years in prison for illegal possession of cannabis.

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The judgment was delivered on March 17, 2026, by Justice M.N. Yunusa at Court No. 2.

According to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the sentence takes effect immediately.

NDLEA spokesperson in Kano, Sadiq Muhammad Maigatari, said Nuhu was arrested on July 20, 2023, near Wudil Bridge in Kano State, where operatives recovered 116 bags of cannabis.

“After three years of investigation and prosecution, the court returned a verdict of guilty and imposed the custodial sentence,” Maigatari said.

Investigations revealed that this is not Nuhu’s first conviction.

He was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Federal High Court in Jigawa State in June 2021 for a similar offence.

At the time of his arrest in Kano, he was out on bail appealing the earlier conviction.

Further inquiry linked Nuhu to a wider drug trafficking network operating across northern Nigeria.

The NDLEA Kano Commander, CN D.Y. Lawal, commended officers and the legal team for their diligence.

“This judgment reinforces our resolve to pursue suspected drug traffickers relentlessly, including those who attempt to continue illegal activities while on bail,” Lawal said.