Ogun Man Bags Two Years’ Imprisonment for Stealing Stove, Amplifiers
A 22-year-old man, Atofeyinti Gafar, has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing valuables worth ₦1.7 million from a church and a mosque in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
An Ogun State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, has sentenced a 22-year-old man, Atofeyinti Gafar, to two years’ imprisonment for stealing valuable items from a church and a mosque. The convict was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, burglary and stealing. Magistrate O.T. Odubanjo ordered that the prison term should be served without an option of a fine, with the sentences on the different counts running concurrently.
Earlier in the proceedings, the prosecutor, Inspector Opeyemi Lawal, told the court that Gafar committed the offences on October 30 at about 6:00 a.m. in the Itoko area of Abeokuta. According to the prosecutor, the convict unlawfully entered the premises of C & S Orisun Ibukun Goshen Church, where he allegedly stole an amplifier engine valued at ₦350,000, a mattress worth ₦250,000 and two speakers valued at ₦200,000. Other items reportedly taken from the church included a stove and cooking utensils worth ₦170,000, two bells valued at ₦40,000 and electrical wires worth ₦50,000.
The prosecutor further informed the court that Gafar also allegedly broke into the premises of Allahu Rahamon Islamic Society, where he stole another amplifier engine valued at ₦450,000 and four speakers worth ₦250,000. The total value of the stolen property from both religious centres was estimated at ₦1.7 million. Lawal told the court that the suspect was apprehended by local vigilantes, who subsequently handed him over to the police for investigation and prosecution.
Following his guilty plea, the magistrate convicted Gafar and imposed a two-year prison sentence on each count, directing that the sentences run concurrently. The court’s decision means he will serve the terms at the same time rather than one after another. The offences were said to contravene Sections 390(9) and 412 of the Criminal Law of Ogun State, 2006. The incident has also drawn attention to the need for religious institutions and other public facilities to strengthen security around their premises to prevent burglary and theft.
