Burkinabe Jailed 3 Years For cattle Theft

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By Paul Iyoghojie

A court in Nigeria has sentenced a 36-year old Burkinabe, Musa Amodu Abubakar, a cattle dealer at the Lagos abattoir, Agege, to three years imprisonment for stealing 22 cows entrusted in his care.

The magistrate court in the elite neighborhood of Ikoyi was told that Musa sold the cows and converted the proceeds to personal use.

He was sentenced by the magistrate, Mrs. Olumide Fusikat on one of the three-count charge of stealing preferred against him by the police.

The magistrate struck out the other two counts  for lack of merit.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Abass Abayomi had told the court that the accused was arrested following complaints by Alhaji Raimi Bolaji, a cattle receiver that the convict, on June 2010, approached him to give him some cows to sell at the abattoir in Agege.

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Bolaji gave him 33 cows at the rate of N180,000 each making  a total of N3,640,000.

He stated that the convict sold all the cows and remitted only N1,300,000 and efforts to collect the balance of N2,340,000 from him were not successful.

The offence, the prosecutor stated contravenes Sections 516, 419 and 390(9) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C17, vol. ii, laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

During the trial and cross examination by the prosecutor, the defendant admitted collecting 33 cows from the complaint, but could only remit N1,300,000 into the complainant’s account.

When asked of the remaining cows or the balance of the agreed money of N3,640,000, he could not give a satisfactory account.

The magistrate, Mrs. Olumide Fusikat sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment or an option to refund the sum of N1 million to the complainant.

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