‘Yes, I Stole’, Estate Agent Begs Judge For Leniency

A convicted estate agent, Emma Emmanuel, has pleaded with the presiding magistrate, Mrs. S.O. Solebo to give him a short jail term.

He said this is because he has shown remorse by confessing that he actually stole the N420,000 over which he was arrested and charged to court.

The 45-year old man said that he did not initially plead guilty when the matter came up before the court because he thought that the prosecutor could not prove the case.

He said that now that the court has found him guilty, there was no need to continue to pretend that he did not commit the crime and asked the court to temper justice with mercy by giving him a short jail term.

But the presiding magistrate told him he knew that he committed the crime and allowed the court to go through the trial process that lasted almost three years before he was eventually found guilty.

Emma told the court that he converted the money to personal use because he needed the money to solve a pressing problem. He said he tried to pay back the money but could not because of hardship.

The convicted agent was arrested by the police at Ikotun station, Lagos for defrauding a prospective tenant of N420,000 for a three bedroom flat.

Instead of renting the flat to him, he reportedly gave his victim a place where another tenant resides. The matter has been going on since 2008 before he was eventually found guilty as charged.

Having considered his plea, the court sentenced him to six months imprisonment and he was immediately put in a waiting prison van and taken to Kirikiri Prison, Apapa, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.

—Cyriacus Izuekwe