COURT JAILS MAN SEVEN YEARS FOR PHONE THEFT
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A High Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, has handed a seven-year prison sentence to 26-year-old Omodara Dada for committing burglary.
Dada was accused of stealing a ₦64,000 phone and ₦8,000 in cash from the phone’s owner in 2022 while brandishing a knife.
On July 19, 2022, he appeared before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, facing a charge of armed robbery, in violation of section 312(2) of the Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2011.
The charge reads: “The convict, on 13th February 2022, at Ado Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did rob one Fakiyesi Tope of his black Infinix Hot 8 phone, valued at ₦64,000, and a cash sum of ₦8,000. At the time of the robbery, he was armed with a knife.”
The victim, in his statement to the police, said: “I am a hotel manager. On the fateful day, I was sleeping in my hotel room. I woke up suddenly when I heard a sound and saw the defendant trying to remove my plasma television. I attempted to shout, but he brought out a knife and threatened to stab me if I shouted.
“I later discovered that he had taken my phone and a cash sum of ₦8,000 that I had placed on the table. I held him from behind when he tried to escape, and I called for help. He was overpowered with the assistance of others, apprehended, and handed over to the police,” he stated.
To establish his argument, the prosecutor, Albert Adeyemi, summoned three witnesses and introduced various exhibits, including the victim’s and defendant’s statements, a knife, and ₦8,000 in cash.
The defendant, who refrained from calling any witnesses, made his case through his lawyer and asked the court to show leniency in delivering judgment.
In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye said: “The evidence produced at the hearing in support of the greater offence is insufficient to sustain the charge of armed robbery but establishes beyond reasonable doubt the lesser offence.”
“The defendant is convicted for the offence of burglary under section 323 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State.
“He is sentenced to seven years in prison, to commence from the date of his detention at the Federal Correctional Facility, Ado Ekiti,”the judge pronounced.
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