Phone thief jailed for seven years in Ekiti

An Ekiti State Chief Magistrate Court has sentenced a 25-year-old man, Balogun Mujaid, to three years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing an Itel A50 phone valued at N98,000 while serving community service within the court premises.

Chief Magistrate Dolamu Babalogbon also ordered the convict on Thursday to pay N130,000 as restitution to the primary complainant in the matter.

Mujaid faced additional sentences in two other cases: three years imprisonment with hard labour with an option of a N20,000 fine on Count 1 and three months imprisonment with an option of a N10,000 fine on Count 2.

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In another matter, Mujaid, who pleaded guilty to all charges, received a further sentence of one year and three months imprisonment without an option of fine on two other counts.

Chief Magistrate Babalogbon ruled that “all terms are to run concurrently.”

Prosecuting the case, Inspector Sodiq Adeniyi told the court that “Mujaid, on October 15, 2024, at about 8:30 a.m. at the open court of the Chief Magistrate 6, Ado Ekiti, while serving community service, did steal the Itel A50 phone, property of one Mrs. Olusola Oluwatuyi.”

In another case, under Charge No: MAD/111c/25, the prosecutor stated, “The defendant stole one standing fan valued at N25,000 and a home theatre valued at N45,000, totalling N70,000, property of Falola Sunday, on January 24, 2025, at Oke-Ila, in Ado-Ekiti.”

Inspector Adeniji noted that “the offence committed is punishable under Section 302(1)(a)(b) and Section (4)(e), 181(1)(d) of the Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria 2021.”