Shari'ah court sentences man to 1 month imprisonment for failing to present accused son

A Shari’ah Court II sitting at Magajin Gari, Kaduna, on Thursday, sentenced one Abdulsalam Adam to one month imprisonment for failing to present accused his son, Shamsuddeen Abdulsalam, in court.

The Judge, Mallam Murtala Nasir, who gave the sentence after Adam was arrested for failing to appear in court and not presenting his son in court, however, gave him an option of N15,000 fine.

The judge also sentenced the accused, a chicken seller, to two months imprisonment over breach of trust and cheating one Hauwa Yakubu, with an option of N30,000 fine.

Nasir also ordered the convict to pay a compensation of N280,000, which included the cost for wasting the complainant’s time.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state commissioner of police had filed a case against Abdulsalam in November 2019 for failing to pay the sum of N240,500 to the nominal complainant.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Aliyu Ibrahim, said that the accused had, on Oct. 23, 2019, collected life chickens worth N240,500 from the nominal complainant, promising to pay the money the next day.

He added that the accused thereafter sold the chickens but failed to pay Yakubu, a situation which made her report the matter to metro area police command, Kaduna.

According to him, the offense contravenes Sections 159 and 168 of the Kaduna State Shari’a Penal Code.

The accused had, however, pleaded guilty, saying that a disaster had occurred which killed all the birds.

He prayed the court to give him time to be able to pay back the money.

The court had answered the prayers of the defendant and granted him bail, while his father stood as surety for him.