A Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court in Abuja has sentenced a dispatch rider identified as Shamsu Sani to 18 months in jail for absconding with the goods of his employer, News About Nigeria reports.
The Senior Magistrate, Okpe Ibrahim, gave the sentence on Thursday after the suspect pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust, cheating by personation and theft.
The 28-year-old, who hails from Ruga village, Wuye, Abuja, absconded with his employer’s goods worth N3.5 million and was convicted without an option of a fine.
The magistrate said that the punishment would have been stiffer if the convict had not saved the court from the rigours of protracted prosecution, by pleading guilty and pleading for leniency.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Donatus Abah, had earlier told the court that the management of a business outfit, Hadizah’s Fabrics, informed the FCT Commissioner of Police through a petition on May 16.
Abah explained that Sani, who worked as a delivery agent with Hadiza’s Fabric, was sent to deliver goods worth N3.5 million to a customer, but collected the goods and sold them to some unknown persons.
He stated that the convict converted the money to his personal use and absconded.
The prosecutor further told the court that the convict was later arrested and handed over to the police for proper investigation, adding that during the police investigation, the convict made a confessional statement, but all efforts made to recover the goods failed.
He stated that the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 322, 324 and 288 of the Penal Code law.
