An 18-year-old man, Joshua Ugbodu, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment by an Ogudu Magistrates’ Court sitting in Lagos State, for allegedly stealing N28,000 from one Amaka Nwosu.
The convict, a resident of Ikotun, a suburb of the state, had pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency, saying hunger and poverty led him into the crime and that he would never go into crime again, but the Magistrate, Sule Amzat, declined granting him any mercy, and convicted him to ‘serve as a deterrent to others.’
After handing down the sentence, the Magistrate advised the convict to learn a trade in one of the training centres in the prisons to be self-reliant and contribute to the development of the society when he is released.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sergeant Ihiehie Lucky, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on December 14, at No. 406, Ikorodu Road, Ojota in Lagos State.
He alleged that Joshua, a pick-pocket, was always loitering around Ojota area before he was apprehended.
