King Sunny Ade's Former Guitarist Sentenced To Three Years For Drug Trafficking

 

Fatoke Abiodun, the former band member and guitarist to King Sunny Ade, has been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for drug trafficking.

The 62 year old father of 12 children was sentenced at the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the one count charge of unlawful exportation of 1.575kg of cacaine during his arrangement on February 26, 2013.

The lawyer to the accused, Bayo Onifade, pleaded with the court prior to the sentencing to temper justice with mercy because the accused is married to three wives and fathered 12.

Because the accused did not waste the time of the court, the presiding judge, D. Seidu, sentenced the accused to three years in prison which take effect from the time of his arrest.

It would be recalled that, Fatoke was arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency on January 1, 2013, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos while he had wanted to board an Air France flight to Italy.

Fatoke, who worked has a guitarist with the King Sunny Ade band, for 30 years, had claimed that he decided to peddle drug because of poverty and his inability to cater for his twelve children.

He said he was retired by King Sunny Ade in 2007 suddenly without his benefits being paid to him, which forced him to trafficking drug though, it was his first time to do so.