By Mabel Yakubu
Kaduna – A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old mechanic, Yusuf Abdulaziz, to 48-hour community service for stealing N30,000.
The magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, sentenced the convict as he pleaded guilty.
“Based on the facts of this case before this court and your plea for leniency, I hereby sentence you to 48-hour community service,” he said.
Emmanuel said that the sentence would serve as deterrent to others and advised the convict to desist from such act in the future.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Zaradeen Umar, had told the court that on May 3, one Babangida Usman of Black Gold Orientation Camp, Kaduna, reported the case at the Barnawa Police Station.
According to Umar, on the same date, at 10a.m., the complainant and his friend, Nabib Ishaku, obtained a pass from the camp to visit Kaduna town to revalidate their ATM cards.
The prosecutor said that when they arrived Kaduna, the bank had closed for the day.
He said that they met the convict, who offered to help them get a hotel to lodge instead of returning to the camp.
Umar said that the convict secured an accommodation for them behind the bank.
He said that while they were sleeping, the convict broke into the hotel room and stole one of their wallets.
“The convict stole the wallet, which contained a national ID card, two ATM cards and N30,000 cash,” he said.
The prosecutor said that the convict attempted to escape, but he was caught and handed over to the police along with the stolen items.
He said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 271 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Laws, 2017.