A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Wuse, Abuja, has discharged a 20-year-old scavenger, Abba Ibrahim, who was charged with stealing protection irons from a hotel.
Magistrate Fareeda Ibrahim freed the defendant on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the offence and warned him to desist from crime and be of good behaviour.
“The items have been recovered from Ibrahim and he did not cause any harm, but if he is brought back to court again for crime, he will be sentenced accordingly,” the magistrate said.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Chinenye Okafor, told the court that the complainant, Onuh Isaac, a security supervisor at John Wood Hotel, Zone 5, reported the matter to the Utako Police Station on Sept. 16.
Okafor explained that one of the hotel’s security guards caught Ibrahim stealing the protection irons, adding that the offence contravened Section 288 of the Penal Code.
Ibrahim pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency, promising not to repeat the offence.