Magistrate sentences man to clean correctional facility for stealing
Magistrate sentences man to clean correctional facility for stealing
A Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, Abuja, has sentenced a 28-year-old man, Umar Yusuf, to 14 days of non-custodial service for stealing motor parts.
He is to clean the premises of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Gwagwalada as part of the sentence.
Yusuf, a resident of Potiskum, Yobe, was convicted and sentenced for mischief and theft.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Olatunji Oladunmoye ordered the convict to clean the premises of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Gwagwalada from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, under the supervision of a correctional officer.
The magistrate warned Yusuf to desist from crime and maintain good behaviour, noting that there were decent ways to earn a living besides stealing.
Earlier, while pleading for mercy, the convict told the court that hunger drove him to steal the items.
“I am a father of two and my children are staying with my mother in the village, it was never my intention to steal but hunger pushed me into doing that.
” I am pleading with the court to forgive me and show me mercy. I promise not to repeat such again,” he pleaded.
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Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Tanko told the court that the complainant, Abdulrauf Abdullahi of Phase one, Gwagwalada Abuja, reported the matter at the Gwagwalada Police Station on Saturday.
Tanko stated that in June 2024, an enforcement team from the Federal High Court, Maitama, placed seven Dangote trucks loaded with cement under the custody of the complainant, who was acting as a vigilante.
He said the trucks were parked along the Kaduna-Lokoja Expressway, near his office by Tipper Garage, Angwan Dodo, Gwagwalada.
Tanko added that on July 12, while his team was on patrol, the convict was caught vandalising one of the trucks by removing the tyre drum hub, brake linings, and roller bearing—items whose values were yet to be determined.
The prosecutor said the offence contravened Sections 327 and 287 of the Penal Code.
