A Kaduna Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday sentenced a 43-year-old businessman, Tunji Adebiyi, to one year imprisonment for defrauding one Mr Felix Samson of six million Naira on the pretext of selling an apartment to him.
The defendant, a resident of Barnawa, Kaduna State, was tried on two counts of obtaining money under false pretences and stealing.
In his judgment, the Magistrate, Mr Ibrahim Emmanuel, held that prosecution established its case against the convict beyond reasonable doubt.
He, therefore, convicted Adebiyi on the counts and sentenced him.
The magistrate, however, gave him an option of N150,000 fine and ordered him to return six million Naira to the complainant.
Emmanuel held that failure to return the money would earn the convict an additional one year prison term.
The magistrate warned the convict to desist from crime, and directed him to write an undertaking to be of good behaviour.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict was first arraigned on Nov. 25, 2020, and was granted bail after he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecution called four witnesses and presented several exhibits to prove its case.
According to the police, the convict fraudulently obtained six million Naira from one Mr Samson on the pretext of selling to him a three-bedroom flat located at Narayi High Coast.
“The defendant collected the money from the complainant and gave some documents which were discovered to be fake.
“When the complainant got to the house, he was denied access, and efforts to retrieve his money proved unsuccessful,’’ the prosecution, Insp Chidi Leo, had submitted.
He noted that the offences violated Sections 287 and 59 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.(NAN)
