Man Bags Two Years Jail Term In Absentia

A 29-year-old man, Tunde Ogunrinde has been sentenced in absentia to two years imprisonment with hard labour over the theft of a motorcycle by an Ado-Ekiti Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Ogunrinde was arraigned by the police on August 18, 2021, for allegedly stealing a Bajaj motorcycle worth N270,000.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Elijah Adejare, told the court that Ogunrinde committed the offence on August 15, 2021, at 12:30 pm in Ado-Ekiti.

He said that the owner of the motorcycle had yet to be identified, noting that stealing contravened Section 383 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

The magistrate, Mr Olatomiwa Daramola, held on Thursday: “This court is fortified with the decision in the case of Maina versus Federal Republic of Nigeria (2022) LPELR-58942 (CA) to deliver this judgement in the absence of the defendant.

“I find the defendant guilty as charged, and I convict him accordingly. The defendant is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour or a fine of N20,000 in place of imprisonment.

“All security agencies are, by this judgement, put on alert to apprehend the fugitive wherever and whenever he is sighted to serve his term of imprisonment or to pay his fine in place of imprisonment.

“The motorcycle is hereby ordered to be sold and the proceeds kept in an account for six months, and if no one comes forward with a genuine proof of ownership for the motorcycle, then the proceeds shall finally be forfeited to the government in line with Section 290 (2) of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2014.”