Justice S. Seidu of The Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday (13/5/2013) sentenced 62-year-old Fatoke Abiodun, a veteran guitarist, to three years imprisonment for drug trafficking.
Abiodun was a former band member and close associate of renowned juju maestro, King Sunny Ade.
The convict was apprehended on January 1, 2013, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos while attempting to courier 1.575kg of cocaine out of Nigeria to Italy.
Abiodun on February 26, 2013 when he was initially arraigned , pleaded guilty.
While pleading for a light sentence for his client, defence counsel, Mr. Bayo Onifade, said Abiodun was a husband of three wives with 12 children all dependent on him.
Abiodun had also on his arrest blamed poverty for his predicament.
He said, “I can play any kind of guitar but my music career is a sad story. I played for King Sunny Ade for 30 years before I was unceremoniously retired in 2007 without severance benefit. I was unprepared for it and I saw the bitter side of life. This is my first time of trafficking drugs. I did it out of frustration because at my age, I could not provide for my family. I am ashamed of myself.”
Justice Seidu while delivering his judgement said, “The appeal of the defence counsel has been taken into consideration and the fact that the convict pleaded guilty as charged without wasting the time of the court was also carefully considered.”
Abiodun’s prison term will start from the date of his arrest as sanctioned by the judge.