Man sentenced to prison for phone theft in Ekiti

An Ekiti State Chief Magistrate Court has sentenced 25-year-old Balogun Mujaid to three years imprisonment with hard labor for stealing an Itel A50 phone worth N98,000 while serving community service within the court premises.  

Chief Magistrate Dolamu Babalogbon, delivering the verdict on Thursday, also ordered Mujaid to pay N130,000 as restitution to the complainant.

In addition to the primary sentence, Mujaid received further penalties in two other cases: three years imprisonment with hard labor or a N20,000 fine on Count 1 and three months imprisonment or a N10,000 fine on Count 2.

Furthermore, he was sentenced to an additional one year and three months imprisonment without an option of fine on two other counts, bringing his total jail term to over seven years if fines are not paid.

Chief Magistrate Babalogbon ruled that “all terms are to run concurrently.”

Prosecuting the case, Inspector Sodiq Adeniyi told the court that “Mujaid, on October 15, 2024, at about 8:30 a.m. at the open court of the Chief Magistrate 6, Ado Ekiti, while serving community service, did steal the Itel A50 phone, property of one Mrs. Olusola Oluwatuyi.”

In another case, under Charge No: MAD/111c/25, the prosecutor stated, “The defendant stole one standing fan valued at N25,000 and a home theatre valued at N45,000, totalling N70,000, property of Falola Sunday, on January 24, 2025, at Oke-Ila, in Ado-Ekiti.”

Inspector Adeniji noted that “the offence committed is punishable under Section 302(1)(a)(b) and Section (4)(e), 181(1)(d) of the Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria 2021.”