Court jails man 7 years for advertising cannabis on social media
A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced a 28-year-old man to seven years in prison without the option of a fine for advertising cannabis for sale on social media.
A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced a 28-year-old man, Ashiru Idris, to seven years in prison without the option of a fine for advertising and offering cannabis sativa for sale on social media. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Idris was arrested on April 22, 2026, by operatives of its Kano Strategic Command after a video of him promoting cannabis for sale went viral online.
Delivering judgment, Justice S.M. Shuaibu convicted the defendant and ordered that the prison term take effect from July 14, 2026. In a statement, the NDLEA’s Media and Advocacy Officer in Kano, Sadiq Muhammad Maigatari, described the ruling as a landmark judgment and a strong warning to those using social media to promote or sell illicit drugs.
The Kano State Commander of the NDLEA, CN DY Lawal, said the judgment had strengthened the agency’s resolve to tackle drug-related offences. “This judgment reinforces our determination to confront drug offenders who brazenly promote illegal substances on public platforms. We will continue to act swiftly on credible intelligence and ensure offenders are brought to justice,” he said.
The sentence is remarkably harsh by any standard. Seven years in prison without the option of a fine for a social media post. The NDLEA describes it as a landmark judgment and a warning to others. The question is whether the punishment fits the crime. Cannabis is illegal in Nigeria, but the severity of the sentence raises questions about proportionality.
This echoes the 2010s debates about drug policy in Nigeria, when the NDLEA came under scrutiny for aggressive enforcement tactics. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a tension between enforcement and proportionality.
The winners: the NDLEA, which has secured a conviction and a deterrent sentence. The losers: Ashiru Idris, who will spend seven years in prison for a social media post, and the Nigerian justice system, which must defend the proportionality of the sentence.
Bottom Line: Seven years in prison for a social media post about cannabis. That is not a sentence. That is a statement. The question is whether it is a statement about drug enforcement or about proportionality.