24th September, 2023
By Paul Iyoghojie
A Mushin Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, South West, Nigeria has sentenced a notorious Mushin-based handset snatcher, Toheeb Adebimpe, 24, to five hours of community service for snatching two phones valued at N355,000 from their owners along Ayantuga Street, Mushin, Lagos.
The convict was jailed by Magistrate R. S. Abdulsalam after pleading guilty to the three-count charge bordering on conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace and stealing preferred against him by the police at the Mushin Division, Olosan and the facts of the case presented before the court by the police prosecutor, Inspector Ogundeji.
Police said that the journey to jail started for the convict on 3 July 2023 when he violently attacked Ayotunde Adewale and robbed him of his iPhone 12 Promax valued at N320,000.
He also snatched one Techno spark phone valued at N35,000 from David Hinvi in broad daylight at Ayantuga Street, Mushin and escaped.
Police further said that following the incident, the complainants reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO in charge of Mushin Division, Olosan, SP Garuba Oseni who swiftly directed his cracked team led by Inspector Olalekan Ogundero to fish out the convict anywhere he might be hiding and recover the stolen phones from him.
Inspector Ogundero and team swung into action and tracked the convict and the stolen phones to a place where he was looking for a buyer for the phones, arrested him and recovered the phones from him.
Magistrate Abdulsalam sentenced the convict to five hours of community service and ordered the police to return the recovered phones to their owners.