Student gets 4 months imprisonment for snatching handbag

An Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court in Wuse Zone 6 on Friday sentenced a student, Kamal Garba, 20, to four months in prison for snatching a lady’s handbag.

Senior Magistrate Fatima Malo, sentenced the convict without an option to pay a fine after he pleaded guilty to stealing.

Malo also ordered the convict to pay N29,000 as compensation or serve an additional eight months.

“The punishment is to make you change your lifestyle from that of crimes to being a good citizen.

The convict is accused of snatching a handbag, belonging to one Comfort Anyiwoyi.

Garba was caught in the act by a group of men who handed him over to military men on duty.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp John Ijoga, told the court that Anyiwoyi had reported the matter to the Central Police Station on Jan. 1.

Ijoga said that the complainant’s bag contained N29,000, two cell phones, some passport photographs, ATM cards of three banks and other vital items.

After the convict’s guilty plea, the prosecutor prayed the court to summarily sentence him under Section 157 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The section states that “if an accused admits that he has committed the offence of which he is accused, his admission shall be recorded.

It adds that this must be “ be nearly as possible, in the words used by the accused and if he shows no sufficient cause why he should not be convicted, the court may convict him accordingly’’.

Ijoga said the offence contravened the provision of Section 287 of the Penal Code. (NAN)