- A Lugbe Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 24-year-old labourer, Jude Habila to 17 months in prison for stealing copper cable.
The police charged Habila, of Guduwyi, Abuja, with criminal conspiracy and theft.
The Judge, Aliyu Kagarko, sentenced the convict after he had pleaded guilty to the offences and prayed the court for mercy.
Kagarko, however, gave Habila an option of N50,000 fine, with a warning that he must desist from committing crime in the future.
He said that the punishment would have been stiffer if the convict had not saved the court the rigours of a protracted prosecution.
Earlier, the Prosecuting Counsel, Olisaemeka Okeke, told the court that a team of policemen had arrested and brought the convict to Kabusa police station on March 1, owing to a report from Networking Service Company.
Okeke said that the convict conspired with his friends and two others simply identified as Jonah and Innocent, who were at large.
He told the court that the convict dishonestly stole copper cables, belonging to Networking Service Company and ran away to an unknown destination.
He said that the convict was later caught and handed over to the police for investigation.
The prosecutor said that during police interrogation and investigation, the convict confessed to the crime.
Okeke said that the offences contravened Sections 97 and 287 of the Penal Code. (NAN)
