24-year-old Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing a Bag of Rice in Jos

A Jos Chief Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday sentenced a 24-year-old man to six months imprisonment for stealing one bag of rice, valued at N20,000.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Jovita Binjin, sentenced the convict, Olataju Habinu, after he pleaded guilty to the crime.

Habinu, in his plea for leniency, attributed his action to devil and hunger.

“It was the devil that made me do it. I didn’t know what came over me and I was hungry. I wanted to sell some of it and reserve some for myself. Have mercy on me. I will not do it again,” he pleaded.

In his ruling, the magistrate sentenced Habinu to three months in prison for trespass and another three months for theft.

He, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N5,000.

The magistrate said that the sentence was meant to serve as deterrent to those who might want to commit similar acts.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Sgt. Shuaibu Mohammed, told the court that the accused trespassed into the house of one Matthew Pankyes in Chwalnyap, Jos and stole a bag of rice.

He said that the accused with the help of another man now at large, successfully removed the bag of rice from the complainant’s apartment and made away with it.

The said that vigilant neighbours, who saw the convict, took the bag of rice gave him a chase and tracked him to his hide out.

The offences contravened Sections 343 and 288 of the Penal Code.