A Dei-Dei Grade 1 Area Court in Shagari Quarters, Abuja, on Monday sentenced a 30-year-old businessman, Ebuka Anthony, to six months imprisonment for defrauding his customer of N380,000.
Anthony of Zone 7 Monkey Village, Abuja, was sentenced on a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
The Area Court judge, Suleyman Ola, however, gave Anthony an option of N30,000 fine and warned him to be of good behaviour.
Anthony, had earlier pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.
The Prosecutor, Mr Olanipekun Babajide, had told the court that on March 19, the complainant, Okoroafor Sampson of Dawaki, Abuja, reported the matter at Dawaki Police Station.
Babajide said that sometime in October 2021, the complainant paid the convict N380, 000 to construct a gate for him.
He told the court that the convict collected the said N380, 000 from the complainant and intentionally refused to deliver the job.
He said that the convict converted the money to his personal use thereby causing the complainant wrongful loss.
The prosecutor added that during police investigation, the convict made a confessional statement and all efforts made to recover the money from him proved abortive.
Babajide said the offence contravened Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.
