A Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Tuesday sentenced a 25-year-old man, Obaseki Friday, to three days of community service after he was found guilty of stealing yams worth N1.2 million from three different farms.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Olubunmi Bamidele, handed down the sentence after Friday pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and the facts of the case were reviewed.
The convict was ordered to serve the three-day sentence through community service within the court premises.
According to the prosecutor, Olubu Apata, the offence was committed around 6 a.m. on July 20 at the Imala community along Ijadu Road in Ado-Ekiti.
Apata told the court that Friday had illegally harvested tubers of yam valued at N200,000 from the farm of Yahaya Ibrahim, N600,000 worth from the farm of Isah Adams, and another N400,000 from the farm of Abdulquadri Ondeku.
The prosecutor revealed that the convict had repeatedly raided the complainants’ farms before he was finally caught while attempting to steal more yams.
The offence, Apata said, contravened Section 302(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
While delivering judgment, Magistrate Bamidele noted that although the convict’s actions were criminal, his guilty plea and remorse were considered in reaching a non-custodial sentence.
She emphasized the importance of deterrence and encouraged the convict to seek lawful means of livelihood.
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