A Magistrates’ Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, sentenced 40-year-old Cletus Gandu to nine months in prison on Thursday for stealing two tubers of yam. Gandu confessed to the theft, explaining that he was driven by hunger, and pleaded for leniency.
In his ruling, Magistrate Michael Bawa sentenced the defendant to three months in prison for criminal trespass and nine months for theft. However, he provided the option of a N50,000 fine.
The defendant was charged by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with criminal trespass and theft, in violation of sections 327 and 270 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law.
NSCDC prosecutor, Mr. Marcus Audu, told the court that the complainant, Alice Daniel, reported the incident at the Corps’ office in Kafanchan on July 15. He stated that the defendant had stolen the tubers of yam from the complainant’s farm in Zonkwa on two separate occasions and confessed to the crime during the investigation.