By Kayode Olabanji
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A 27-year-old man, Rotimi Raphael, a native of iyagba, Kogi state, has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment having been convicted for stealing by an Akure chief magistrate court sitting at Oke Eda in the Akure magisterial district.
According to the charge sheet, the accused person, on December 1, 2017, at about 10:00am at Isinkan Akure, in the Akure Magisterial district unlawfully entered into the dwelling house of one Adekoya Folarin at Isinkan
area Akure with intent to commit felony therein.
The convict, on the same day, time and place at the aforementioned district did stole the sum of Two hundred and sixty five thousand naira (#265,000) property of Adekoya folarin (m), having committed felony therein, did broke out from the same house.
The alleged offence committed was said to be contrary to and punishable under section 412, 390(9) and 411(2) of the Criminal Code cap37 Volume 1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006.
The accused person, Rotimi Raphael, pleaded guilty to all the three counts charge when it was read to him.
The prosecutor, Sergeant Adebayo Sulaiman, aligned himself with the facts that the accused committed the offence by breaking into the dwelling house of Adekoya Folarin on the December 1, 2017 at about 10 am within the jurisdiction of the court, and stole the sum of Two hundred and sixty five thousand naira(N265,000) out of four hundred and sixty five thousand naira(N465,000) that was kept in the house by the complainant in order to buy a printing machine, because he was into printing business.
The complainant arrested the defendant and handed him over to the police, while he was accosted to the scene where the defendant shown to the police how he was able to entered into the house.
He said on arriver to the police station, that his statement was taken which was written by the defendant himself and signed.
According to the prosecutor, his statement was endorsed by an officer from the Special Anti-robbery Squad Akure.
He therefore tendered the statement of the defendant as evidence to the court which was read to the accused and was taken as an exhibit A.
Sergeant Adebayo, also tendered an agreement letter written by the defendant at the station where he refunded forty thousand N40,000 to the complainant, with an undertaking to pay the balance of money stolen installmentally with sixty six thousand naira (N66,000) monthly as from February 2018, which he has defaulted, was also taken as exhibit B and C.
In her ruling, Chief Magistrate, Mrs Victoria Bob-manuel, found the accused guilty as charged and sentenced him to two years imprisonment on count one, three years imprisonment on count two and two years imprisonment on count three. She served the prison term will run concurrently without an option of fine.
