A Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced a dispatch rider, Shamsu Sani to 18 months imprisonment for absconding with his employer’s goods worth ₦3.5 million.
The Senior Magistrate, Okpe Ibrahim, sentenced Sani after he pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust, cheating by personation and theft. Okpe, however, did not give the convict the 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. Sani, 28, of Ruga village Wuye Abuja, had earlier pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.
The Prosecution Counsel, Donatus Abah had 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 said Sani, who worked as a delivery agent with Hadiza’s Fabric was sent to deliver goods worth ₦3.5 million to a customer. He said the convict collected the goods and sold them to some unknown persons. He said the convict converted the money to his personal use and absconded.
The prosecutor told the court that the convict was later arrested and handed over to the police for proper investigation. The prosecutor further stated that during the police investigation, the convict made a confessional statement and that all efforts made to recover the goods failed.
Abah said that the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 322, 324 and 288 of the Penal Code law.