A Kuje Upper Area Court, Abuja, on Friday sentenced two labourers – Simon Dufu and Mark Ferdinand – to five months’ imprisonment each, for stealing two android phones, sound amplifier and a power generator, all valued at N200,000.
Dufu, 22, and Ferdinand, 24, both of whom reside at Anguwan Tiv Area of Kuje, were convicted on a two-count charge of housebreaking and theft.
The judge, Mr Abdulahi Abdulkareem, gave the verdict after both men, pleaded guilty to the charge and begged for leniency.
Abdulkareem did not give the convicts an option of fine.
He noted that cases of theft were rampant in Kuje, and hoped that the sentence would serve as a deterrent.
The judge also ordered the convicts to pay N180, 000 as a compensation to the complainant, Mrs Vera Doshima.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Doris Okoroba, told the court that Doshima reported the case at the Kuje Police Station on Aug. 20.
The prosecutor said that the convict broke into the complainant’s beer parlour popularly known as Lady B Joint, and stole the property.
Okoroba submitted that the convicts, who were regular customers of Doshima, sold the stolen items at the Tipper Garage in the area at giveaway prices.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 286 and 288 of the Penal Code.
