A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan has sentenced a scavenger, Fatai Abiodun,18, to two weeks imprisonment for unlawfully entering into a house with the intension to steal abandoned metallic objects.
The Magistrate, Mrs O.O. Latunji, in her judgement, held that Abiodun was convicted and sentenced based on the evidence available to her and his guilty plea.
Latunji, however, warned the convict not to go back into any act of criminality after completing his sentence.
She also ordered him to pay N5,000 as restitution for damaging the complainant’s wristwatch.
The prosecutor, Insp Oluseye Akinola, had told the court that the convict committed the crime on April 25, at Iyemetu-Adeyo area, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Akinola stated that Abiodun, who earned his living as a scavenger, gained entry into the compound of one Rukayat George through the drainage of the house.
He said that the convict had sighted some abandoned scraps through the drainage and made frantic efforts to get them.
“The convict was pulling out other minor obstacles preventing him from gaining entry when George noticed that something was happening.
“On getting to the scene, George asked what Abiodun was doing; instead, the latter attempted to escape causing the former to raise an alarm.
“Abiodun’s attempt to escape led to the damage of the wristwatch worn by the complainant before he was taken to the Iyemetu Police Station,” the prosecutor said.
Akinola said that the offence contravene the provisions of Section 412 of the Criminal Code Cap. 38 vol ii law of Oyo State, 2000. (NAN)
