Court jails labourers 8 months for cheating, theft

A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Monday sentenced two labourers, Lawal Salisu and Habib Isa to eight months in prison for cheating and theft.

Salisu, 20, and Isa, 21, of Gidan Wanka Pantaker Karmo, Abuja, pleaded guilty to charges of cheating and theft.

The judge, Mr Maiwa Inuwa, who sentenced the two to eight months in prison, however, gave them N5,000 option of fine each.

Inuwa, who warned the convicts to shun crime and be good citizens, expressed the hope that the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mrs Ukagha Ijeoma, had told the court that the matter was reported by Ibrahim Mohammed of Angwan Shehu road, Karmo, Abuja, at Karmo Police Station on June 10.

Ijeoma said that on the same date at about 5.30 a.m, the convicts jointly and criminally entered into Mohammed’s house and stole iron scrape valued at N20,500 which the convicts had earlier sold to the complainant.

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She said that the convicts criminally brought back the same iron scrape to the complainant to buy at N10,000.

She added that in the process, the complainant identified the iron scrape and invited the police, who arrested the two.

The prosecutor said that the convicts had confessed to committing the crime during the police investigation, noting that the offences contravened sections 322 and 287 of the Penal Code.