Answer: No, it cannot.
According to Article 57(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances:
- For crimes involving possession of narcotic substances with intent to distribute or traffic, the penalty is death;
- Article 67 of the same law explicitly prohibits the court from reducing the imposed penalty, except in strictly limited cases (use for personal consumption on the first or second offense, or offenses punishable only by a fine, or by a fine and/or imprisonment in the alternative).
In Criminal Appeals Nos. 947 and 1018 of 2024, the appellate court, having established the possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, applied Article 99 of the Penal Code and reduced the penalty from the mandatory death sentence to 5 years’ imprisonment. The Federal Supreme Court held that:
- The application of Article 99 contravenes the specific provisions of Article 67 of Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021;
- Reduction of the penalty in such cases is impermissible and constitutes an err...