Nigeria: Ogun man jailed for two years over theft of valuables worth ₦1.7m from Church, Mosque
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
A 22-year-old man, identified as Atofeyinti Gafar, has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing valuables worth over ₦1.7 million from a church and a mosque in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Gafar was sentenced by an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court sitting in Isabo after pleading guilty to four charges, including conspiracy, burglary and stealing.
The prosecutor, Inspector Opeyemi Lawal, told the court that the offences were committed in May and on October 18 in the Itoko area of Abeokuta.
According to the prosecutor, Gafar broke into C & S Orisun Ibukun Goshen Church, where he allegedly stole an amplifier engine worth ₦350,000, a 6-by-6 foam valued at ₦250,000 and two speakers worth ₦200,000.
Other items stolen from the church included a stove and cooking utensils valued at ₦170,000, two bells worth ₦40,000 and electrical wires valued at ₦50,000.
Lawal further told the court that on October 18, the defendant broke into the Allahu Rahamon Islamic Society, where he stole an amplifier engine worth ₦450,000 and four speakers valued at ₦250,000.
The total value of the stolen items was put at over ₦1.7 million.
The prosecutor said Gafar was eventually apprehended by local vigilante officers and handed over for prosecution.
Delivering her judgment on Tuesday, Magistrate O.T. Odubanjo convicted him following his guilty plea.
She sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and stealing, with no option of a fine. However, she ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning he will serve both terms at the same time.
