An Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court, on Friday, sentenced a 21-year-old man, Sulaimon Salako, to three months imprisonment for stealing an Itel phone and money belonging to a business woman.
The defendant, whose address was not provided, pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of stealing.
The Magistrate, Mrs O.O. Odumosu, convicted Salako, following his guilty plea to the charge.
Odumosu, however, gave the convict an option of three weeks community service at Adatan Police Station.
She said that the convict could only serve the community service term if he had sureties to stand for him.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP Olakunle Shonibare, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on May 8 at about 6:30 a.m. at Elega market in Abeokuta.
Shonibare said that the convict stole an Itel phone, valued at N54,000 and a sum of N40,000 belonging to one Mrs Kafayat Shoremekun.
He further stated that the complainant, a business woman, went to her shop at Elega and was packing and carrying her goods to the roadside where she displayed them and left her bag inside her shop.
The prosecutor added that it was while doing all these that the convict entered the shop and stole the bag containing the valuables.
He said that after taking the bag, the convict moved a few metres away from the shop, opened the bag, took a phone and N40,000 and dropped the bag on the floor.
Shonibare said that when the complainant returned to her shop, she noticed her bag was missing, but later found only the bag where the convict had dropped, but without her phone and money.
He stated that the complainant sold the stolen phone for N18,000.
According to him, the offence contravenes Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ogun, 2006.
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