A 20-Yr-Old Man Jailed Six Months After Two Years In Prison

Twenty-year-old native of Maiduguri State, Habila Yama, who was jailed six months for stealing a motorcycle, has expended two years in jail before he was punished.

This became obvious after the magistrate of the Yaba Magistrate’s Court, Mrs. Bola Folarin-Williams, convicted Yama on a lone enumerate of unlawful ownership.

Folarin-Williams, while rounding off her judgment, said, “Since the bike was found with him (Yama), and he could neither give any interpretation on how he came about it neither supply any article that he was the proprietor, he is hereby at fault of unlawful possession.

“Section 327 of the lawless person regulations of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011 enforces a punishment of N90,000 or six months imprisonment upon conviction for the infringement. He is hereby punished to six months imprisonment which is to start from the day of arraignment.”

She organised that the convict be released since he had been in prison custody since September 2011 when the case began.

The magistrate lamented that Yama had to stay that long in jail because he had no one to help him with his bail conditions.

The convict had been reported by the head person of an okada riders association in Ogudu for travelling a two wheeler which he could not verify was his own.

Yama had, although, told the court that he had bought the two wheeler on hire buy for N120, 000 and had lost his acknowledgement.

He asserted he was described to the police because he battled with a co-resident, identified as John, and turned down to pay N5, 000 for his remedy.

The convict in his clues said there were over 40 other two wheeler riders in the identical association, who did not have any document for their motorbikes, supplementing that he was a casualty of selective fairness.

The court, however, chose to rely on the evidence of the enquiring Police agent, who said the convict had made confessional statement that he really stole the two wheeler with the help of an accomplice.

Folarin-Williams furthermore added, “He could not supply any document, he could not give any satisfactory answer on how he came by the two wheeler to the IPO and he could not take the police to where he allegedly acquired the two wheeler on charter purchase.

“Again, he had said he was going by car the two wheeler for somebody in Ogudu, who refuted understanding him