A Jos Upper Area Court 1, on Thursday sentenced a 28-year-old man, Usman Yusuf to 18 months imprisonment for stealing a tricycle worth N450,000.
The Judge, Lawal Suleiman, sentenced Yusuf after he pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing.
Lawal held that the convict should serve-out his term without an option of fine.
He said the sentence would serve as deterrent to others who would want to engage in such crime.
Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Sgt. Ibrahim Gukwat, had told the court that the tricycle driver Sani Abubakar reported the matter at the Laranto Police Station on July 22.
Gukwat said the accused boarded the tricycle from Ahmadu Bello way and told the complainant to take him to Rano filling station Bauchi Road, Jos for N500.
“On getting to the filling station the accused told the complainant that he mistakenly told him Bauchi Road instead of Zaria Road.
“The driver agreed and took him to the Rano filling station at Zaria Road, but on getting to the destination the accused punched the complainant on his neck and took the tricycle,” he said.
According to the prosecutor, the complainant screamed for help and some people came to his rescue and arrested the accused.
Gukwat said the offence contravened Section 95 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.
The accused, who pleaded guilty to the charge, begged the court for leniency saying “I will never do it again, it is the devil’s handiwork, please have mercy on me”.
