A Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday sentenced a 36-year-old applicant, Ifeanyi Okoye of Abattoir, Karu, Abuja, to two months’ imprisonment for stealing a tin of Peak milk.
Senior Magistrate Bashir Alkali passed the sentence after the convict pleaded guilty to a two-count-charge of criminal intimidation and theft. Alkali said that the convict did not waste the time of the court and gave him an option of N3,000 fine.
Police prosecutor, Cpl. Umar Mohammed, told the court that the case was reported on Feb. 28 by one Patience Nsirim at the Karu Divisional Police Station, Abuja. Mohammed said that the accused person entered the complainant’s provision shop at Karu village, Abuja, pretending to be a customer. The prosecutor said that the convict collected a tin of milk valued at N120 and N200 MTN recharge card from the complainant.
“He also collected the sum of N680 as his change from her with the pretext that he would give a thousand naira note for the things he collected from her.
`The accused noticed that the complainant’s attention was distracted by other customers in the shop and decided to run away without paying for what he picked.
“The complainant quickly raised an alarm and he was arrested with the assistance of sympathisers around with the stolen goods in his possession and was thereafter handed over to the police,’’ he said.
Mohammed said that during police investigation, it was discovered that the accused threatened to deal with the complainant if she reported the case to the police or ask him for her money.