A Federal High Court in Ibadan on Thursday sentenced a 40-year-old woman, Omodunmami Ayantola to one year in the correctional centre for trafficking 45.6kg of Cannabis.

Delivering judgment, Justice Uche Agomoh convicted and sentenced Ayantola based on her guilty plea and the evidence tendered against her by the prosecution.

Agomoh added that she reduced the convict’s jail term because she did not waste the time and resources of the court before pleading guilty.

She said that the convict was also a first time offender.

“The convict has shown signs of remorse and has promised to turn a new leaf after completing her jail term.

“To serve as a deterrent to others, Ayantola is sentenced to one year imprisonment from the date of arrest.

“The dried weed substance found in her possession shall be destroyed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),” Agomoh said.

The prosecuting counsel, D.O. Otunla, had told the court that the convict committed the crime on April 1, at Eleta area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Otunla said that the NDLEA operatives received intelligence reports from informants that Ayantola was into illicit drug dealing.

According to him, the operatives arrested the convict in possession of a substantial quantity of Cannabis Sativa weighing 45.6kg.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provision of Section 11 (C) of the NDLEA Act Cap n30 Law of the Federation, 2004.

A man suspected of killing his wife and two daughters in Bedfordshire has been in court in South Africa after UK authorities submitted an application to extradite him.

Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found dead by police in a house in Great Denham, near Bedford, on 6 July.

The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised three murder charges against Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, who is a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage.

He has appeared before magistrates in Johannesburg where he confirmed his name and was told a further court hearing would take place on 22 July.

During the hearing he indicated he would be speaking in English.

His mother and sister were seated in the court’s public gallery, and Tshuma waved to his family as he was taken down to the holding cells at the end of Monday’s hearing.

South African police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe explained that the court proceedings concern the extradition request and a charge of illegal possession of firearms.

She said: “We can confirm that South Africa has received a provisional extradition request from Interpol Manchester through to Interpol Pretoria.

“We will be awaiting a full extradition request within 40 days, which will include the case docket as well as supporting evidence.

“However, we can confirm that, for now, we do have the warrant of arrest from UK authorities.”

Police added that he travelled from Heathrow Airport in London to South Africa, via Dubai, and he briefly went to Zimbabwe before returning to Johannesburg.

He was arrested in the Kensington suburb of the city on Friday.

In a tribute, family members said “words cannot begin to express the depth of our emptiness and sorrow in the fact of this tragic and senseless loss of life”.

President Bola Tinubu has expressed profound joy at the successful rescue of the children and teachers from Oriire community in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, by the security forces. 

  Tinubu praised the heroic efforts of the security agencies, especially the military, the Department  for State Service(DSS) and the Police, for working round the clock in the last 56 days to secure the release of the abducted children and their teachers without any collateral damage and for arresting eight of the abductors and neutralising others.

Spokesman to the President, Bayo Onanuga in a statement said  Tinubu regretted the anguish that the children and their teachers, as well as members of their families and the entire nation, have experienced since the sad occurrence.

For cooperating with the Federal Government in all rescue efforts, President Tinubu commended the Oyo State Government and charged it to ensure adequate security around schools across the state. 

“I am profoundly happy that our security forces successfully rescued the abducted pupils and teachers from Orire, Ogbomoso in Oyo State today after a military, police and intelligence-driven operation that neutralised some of the terrorists that perpetrated the evil act and the arrest of eight of them. 

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular. On behalf of the country, I express my gratitude to the officers and men of our armed forces, the intelligence agencies and the police for the safe rescue of the children and their teachers. 

“My government will get justice for these children and their teachers and for the family of Mr Oyedokun, who the terrorists gruesomely murdered. 

“I must commend the government of Oyo State for working cooperatively with us in bringing this unfortunate incident to a successful end,” the President said. 

President Tinubu has also directed that the emergency agencies work with the Oyo State Government to provide all necessary medical and relief support to the children and the teachers.