A 20-year-old man, Babangida Mohammed, is to spend the next five months in prison for stealing a mobile phone, a Karmo Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja ruled on Friday.
Delivering judgment, the judge, Alhaji Inuwa Maiwada, said that since the defendant had pleaded guilty to the charge, the court had no option than to sentence him accordingly.
Maiwada warned the convict to desist from committing crimes after serving his prison term and also ordered him to pay N15, 000 as compensation to the complainant.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mohammed, of no fixed address, was sentenced on a two-count charge of joint act and theft.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Mrs Ijeoma Ukagha, had informed the court that on Sept. 23, Rashida Mohammed of Jabi Village, Abuja, reported the matter at Life Camp Police Station.
Ukagha told the court that the convict and Sain Makopi, now at large, committed the offences on the fateful date at 7 p.m. at Jabi Masalasi.
She said that the complainant reported the incident for proper investigation, which led to the arrest of the convict.
Ukagha said the convict and Makopi jointly and intentionally stole the complainant’s cell phone valued at N24, 600.
The prosecutor said during police investigation, all effort made to trace Makopi and to recover the phone proved abortive.
She said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 79 and 287 of the Penal Code.
Following the plea of the convict, the prosecutor prayed the court to conduct summary trial for Mohammed as provided for under Section 347 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
