Corpun file 18042

The Tide, Port Harcourt, 24 July 2006

Two students receive 12 lashes for theft

A Senior Magistrates' Court in Jabi, FCT, has sentenced two students to 12 strokes of the cane for theft.

The punishment was immediately executed at the premises of the court, watched by a scanty crowd of prosecutors, journalists, court officials and prison officials.

The students, Samuel Daris and Leonard Ogbekhiulu, are of Nasarawa Secondary School, Lafia and Lugbe Secondary School, Abuja, respectively.

They were said to have on July 17, 2006 conspired and broke [sic] into the house of one Abdul-Iateef Oyorinde at Kuchingoro village in Abuja.

They took away a 14-inch Sharp TV set and AKIRS Video CD valued at N17 ,000.

During police investigation the items were recovered from the convicts.

When they appeared before the court Friday and the Police First Information Report (FIR) was read to them, they pleaded guilty to the charge.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Emmanuel Lafet, urged the court to invoke the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and try them summarily since they have pleaded guilty.

Senior Magistrate Hafsat Soso ruled that since the convicts could not show cause why they should not be sentenced, the court was left with no other option than to sentence them.

Soso ordered that they should be given six strokes of the cane each to deter them from further acts of crime.

She also ordered that they should undertake to be of good behaviour within the next six months.

The magistrate said that if they were found guilty of any offence within the period they would serve a three-month jail term without an option of fine for the theft.

Soso noted that they were free to appeal against the judgment at an appropriate court within 30 days if they were not satisfied with the ruling.

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