An Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court has sentenced a 28-year-old auto mechanic, Akeem Jimoh, to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour for stealing 17 tubers of yam valued at N35,000.
Jimoh, an ex-convict, was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of theft brought against him by the police.
The charge sheet indicated that the convict, on July 27, 2025, at about 10pm, stole the yams from behind Africa Primary School, Ataoja area of Osogbo. The tubers belonged to one Tiamiyu Abegunde.
Police prosecutor, Babatunde Olukokun, told the court that Jimoh admitted to the theft during interrogation and confessed that hunger pushed him into the act.
The prosecutor added that Jimoh had previously served a three-year jail term after standing as surety for a man who later jumped bail.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Muibah Olatunji held that the defendant’s admission of guilt left the court with no option but to convict him.
She sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour, without the option of a fine.
Before the judgment, Jimoh, who had no legal representation, pleaded with the court for leniency, citing hardship and hunger.
His conviction comes barely weeks after similar theft cases were decided in neighbouring states. In July, an Ogun State Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 21-year-old, Adebanjo Segun, to six months in prison for stealing a fowl, while another man, Kazeem Tobi, bagged the same jail term for stealing a generator worth N120,000.
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