By Damilola Kushimo
An Isolo Magistrate Court has sentenced a 24-year-old man, David Orji, to 18 months imprisonment for attempted theft and unlawful possession of industrial iron cutter.
Both offences are punishable under sections 406(2) and 329(1) criminal laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The prosecutor, Inspector Oje Uagbale, told the court that Orji was caught while trying to use the industrial iron cutter to burgle a shop along Aiye bus-stop, Isolo, around 6am before being nabbed and handed over to the police officers at Aswani Police Station.
He said: “He went to a shop around Aiye bus stop, it was in the attempt of stealing that some boys saw him and descended on him. It was a man identified as Oriyomi who came to his rescue and handed him over to the police officers.
“Upon investigation at the crime scene, the industrial iron cutter was found and he confessed to have stolen it from people who had, as well, stolen it, in order to gain entrance to the shop.”
According to the prosecutor, Orji had previously been charged to court for a similar case with charge number, MM/B/34/2017 in March 2017 but the case was dismissed as witnesses failed to show up.
He explained further that three days to his robbery attempt on August 15, 2019, the accused had stolen someone’s Tecno phone valued at N30, 000 and was mercilessly beaten and injured.
“He was, however, taken to Aswani Police Station from where he was taken to Isolo General Hospital for treatment. It was while he was still under medical treatment that he went out on the dawn of Sunday, August 18, 2019 to make another stealing attempt. Upon arraignment, the prison authority rejected him base on his critical condition and requested for a certified medical report.
“After receiving a satisfactory medical report, he was taken to prison custody.”
Having admitted all the stated facts and exhibit tendered without contradiction, the Magistrate, Olufunmilayo Teluwo sentenced Orji to a year and six months imprisonment-for the 2-count charges bordering on attempted theft and unlawful possession of iron cutter.
