Man sentenced for stealing lady’s bag
An Abuja Area Court Tuesday sentenced a middle-aged man, Patrick Okoh, to ten months imprisonment for conspiring with his brother now at large to steal a hand bag belonging to one Alice Oriko, a joint act and theft punishable under Sections 79 and 288 of the penal code Law.
The prosecutor, Musa Abdullahi, had earlier informed the court that on October 24, 2010, the complainant reported at the Mpape police station that on October 23, while she was coming back from church, the accused, Patrick Okoh of Mpape village conspired with his brother, Amos Okoh now at large, and forcefully collected her bag containing a Nokia phone valued at N6,000 and an ATM card.
The prosecutor said during investigation, it was discovered that the accused used the said ATM card to withdraw N23,000 from the complainant’s account.
The accused pleaded guilty when the charges were read to him and begged for leniency.
The prosecutor urged the court to try him summarily under Section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Judge Lawal Manir sentenced him to ten months imprisonment with an option of N4,000 fine.
He also ordered the accused to pay N29,000 as compensation to the complainant.
Daily Trust Friday, 5th November 2010
Page 54
By Usman A. Bello, Kudirat B. Salaudeen & Victoria A. Ochu
