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Nurse smuggled drugs into jail
Peter Dominiczak5 Aug 2009
A prison nurse caught smuggling drugs and alcohol for inmates has been jailed for three and a half years.
Olawale Jibona, 51, had cannabis resin worth £1,500, a two-litre bottle of whisky disguised as cola and packs of sleeping pills favoured by heroin addicts for the high they produce.
The married father of two, a nurse for 24 years, was stopped by security staff as he returned to work after his lunch break at HMP Brixton.
He was clutching a carrier bag containing a 123 gram block of cannabis resin with a street value of £500. Inside the prison it would have been worth three times that figure, Southwark crown court heard. He also had a Diet Pepsi bottle which was 97 per cent full of whisky with just a small amount of cola to colour the liquid, and stuck to the outside of the bottle were 28 tablets of insomnia drug Zopiclone. The prescription-only medicine, sold in the UK as Zimovane, "heightens euphoria when ingested together with alcohol" and is known to addicts as "zim-zims", said Andrew Mazibrada, prosecuting.
Nigerian-born Jibona, a Dutch citizen who moved to the UK in 1998, is a registered mental health nurse who has been employed by the prison service since 2003.
He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possessing a class B drug with intent to supply and wilful misconduct in public office on 24 April.
Jibona, of Peckham, now faces the prospect of being struck off the Nursing & Midwifery Council Register.
Reader views (7)
This news came to me as a shock. As a professional registered mental health nurse, I felt bad and disappointed that a professional colleagues, can get himself to such a low level with prisoners on drugs. What a shame! I didn't believe,until I've read part of the judgement,his guilt acceptance, and looking at his picture. It's real. I think this will sound as a warning to others still out there, that we need to uphold that professional trust, dignity and respect reposed on us.This is a clear case of misconduct. I hope, he'll learn a big time from this misdemeanor. My heart goes out there again, for his family and other Nigerian Nurses in UK Mental Health Services.
- Orojo, Bronx,NY, 29/01/2010 16:11
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Revoke his citizenship if he has a British one, and send him back to Nigeria.
How many yaers has he been doing this scam I wonder.
He gives honest immigrants a very very bad name, shame on him.
- Iqubal Saleem-Choudry, London, 21/10/2009 22:23
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With over GBP50,000,000.00 of illegal drugs allegedly sloshing around within the UK prison system, WHY should anyone be at all surprised to learn that this person has been caught?
Jackboot Straw could not care less - drugged prisoners are happy prisoners, therefore significantly reducing the potential for serious trouble in backward-thinking penal establishments.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK, 21/10/2009 22:23
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This man has been caught yes he is guilty, but its obvious he's not the only officer working in prisons doing this type of deal.
Why can't people see beyond his origin and face the problem of getting those who abuse the power given to them.
And tackling addiction to drugs which is eating up this society
Iquabal are you sure you don't have skeleton in your cupboard? Stop pointing accusing fingers and think of real solutions.
- Anon, uk, 21/10/2009 22:23
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"Jibona, of Peckham, now faces the prospect of being struck off the Nursing & Midwifery Council Register"
Why hasn't he been struck-off already!?
Thanks to the corrupt EU this scumbag can't be
deported - he's a Dutch citizen.
- Lb, Bromley, 21/10/2009 22:23
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Please deport this man and bar him from re-entering the UK when he is released.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London, 21/10/2009 22:23
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He has worked as a mental health nurse for 24 years? How much medication has he stolen from hospitals during that time? How much damage has this man caused to prisoners and what other drugs has he been dealing. I personally got a longer sentence -2 years- for being in possession of a 'nine bar' (9 ounces of cannabis) because it was deemed as 'intent to supply' back in the early 90s. What this man has done is reprehensible, is an utter breach of his position and trust and yet he gets away with this minimal punishment? He does give immigrants a bad name as do MANY people like him who work in the Civil Services / Local Authorities / NHS. They shouldn't get off so lightly for any crime committed when holding a position of authority. I was a stupid teenager this man has wilfully and knowingly seemingly stolen medications and supplied them to the most vulnerable (and dangerous) people in society. SHAME ON HIM.
- Anon., London, 21/10/2009 22:23
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