20-year-old sentenced to 9 months jail for stealing phones

An Oshodi Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, yesterday, sentenced a 20-year-old unemployed man, Azeez Adams, to nine months imprisonment for stealing two Blackberry phones.

The Magistrate, Mr Akeem Fashola, sentenced Adams after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and stealing.

Adams, of no fixed address, blamed his action on the devil and pleaded for leniency.

The magistrate gave him an option of paying a fine of N60,000.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, had told the court that the accused and others at large committed the offence on March 5, at 9.30p.m., at Oshodi.

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He said that the accused and others conspired to steal a N64,000 Blackberry Touch phone belonging to one Miss Oloruntimilehin Olayinka, and a N25,000 Blackberry Bold phone, property of one Mr Emmanuel Adebiyi

“Olayinka and Adebiyi were receiving calls at the bus stop when the accused snatched their phones and crossed to the other side of the road.

“The accused was pursued and when he discovered this, he quickly passed the two phones to his colleagues, who escaped with them, while he was arrested,” the prosecutor said.

According to him, all efforts to recover the phones have proved abortive.

Olatunde said that the offence contravened Sections 285 and 410 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.