A Magistrates’ Court in Makurdi, on Friday, sentenced Jeremiah Aiper and Friday Terkumbu to one year imprisonment each for stealing a Redmi A3 phone valued N120,000.
The Magistrate, Mrs Erdoo Ter, convicted Aiper and Terkumbu following their guilty plea to the charges of conspiracy and stealing.
Ter, however, granted the convicts an option of payment of N500,000 fine each in lieu of the prison sentence.
In addition, the magistrate directed that Aiper and Terkumbu should jointly pay N120,000 to Joshua Mbega, the complainant, as restitution.
Earlier during trial, the Police Prosecutor, Insp Godwin Ato, told the court that the case was reported at the ‘C’ Division Police Station, North Bank, Makurdi on June 19, 2026.
Ato said that the complainant, Mbega, reported that he was standing in front of Access Bank in North Bank area of Makurdi with one of his friends, Bobo (surname unknown), when the convicts attacked him.
According to the prosecutor, the convicts forcefully collected Mbega’s Redmi A3 handset valued at N120,000 from him before fleeing to an unknown destination.
The prosecutor said that Aiper and Terkumbu were later arrested and voluntarily confessed to committing the offences.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 97 and 288 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.
The two men, when arraigned, pleaded guilty, saying that it was the devil’s handiworks and asked for forgiveness.