A 21-year-old security guard named Mohammed Yunusa told a Kubwa, Abuja, magistrate court that he had no food to eat, so he stole one bag of rice and corn.
Living in the Dawaki neighborhood of Abuja, Yunusa entered a guilty plea to charges of theft and criminal conspiracy.
“My boss, retired Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Ali Janja, employed me as a security guard because the former guard, Aminu Haruna, travelled in December. My boss travelled to Kaduna and left me with his children at home. The children do not give me food to eat. I stole one bag of rice and one bag of maize for my food and not for selling,” he said.
Yunusa went on to state that he spent 19 days in the police station and pleaded with the court to balance justice with mercy, expressing his regret.
Earlier, prosecuting counsel John Okpa informed the court that he would not seek compensation for the stolen items because they had been retrieved from Yunusa.
Magistrate Oyepeju Mustapha sentenced Yunusa to two months of community work on the court grounds and required him to produce a guarantor. According to Mustapha, Yunusa would face a one-month prison sentence if he did not have a guarantee.
According to the prosecution, on January 12, a police officer who worked for Yunusa’s boss, Jibrin Dauda, reported the incident to the Divisional Headquarters in Dawaki, Abuja.
He said that Yunusa and Haruna plotted to steal N500,000 worth of rice and maize from their boss’s store.
He claimed that the offense violated the Penal Code’s sections 97 and 288.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli