OJO AND ANOTHER vs. THE REPUBLIC

The appellants were two of four persons tried before the erstwhile National Public Tribunal on narcotic drug charges under the Narcotic Drugs Control, Enforcement and Sanctions Law, 1990 (PNDCL 236). They were convicted on 6 July 1993 and each sentenced to the mandatory minimum term of ten years’ imprisonment. They later obtained extension of time to appeal and contended that the trial tribunal failed to comply with article 14(6) of the 1992 Constitution by not taking into account the period they had spent in lawful custody from 14 February 1991 before conviction. Portion of judgment: “The appellants were among four persons who were arraigned before the erstwhile National Public Tribunal in connection with narcotic drug offences. They were found guilty, convicted and sentenced to the mandatory minimum sentence of ten year’s imprisonment... It is the contention of counsel for the appellants that if this constitutional provision had been taken into account, the sentence imposed would have begun to run from the date they were first taken into lawful custody, which in their case was 14 February 1991.”