An unemployed man, Osita Nwatun, has told an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos he is guilty of stealing a ram, valued at N65,000.
“I am guilty as charged,” Nwatun said, but pleaded for leniency. He blamed the devil for his action.
The accused, who is facing a one count-charge of theft, will know his fate today.
Magistrate Mr. J. I. Adigun ordered the accused to be remanded at Kirikiri Prisons.
The prosecutor, Godwin Awase, told the court the accused committed the offence on September 4, at 616, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ojokoro, Lagos.
He said the accused stole a ram, valued at N65,000, belonging to the complainant, Aruna Bameyi.
Awase said the accused, who slept in the ram market, stole the complainant’s ram at midnight.
“The complainant discovered the following morning one of his rams was missing; he quickly called ram sellers in Lagos and Ogun states to inform them one of his rams had been stolen.
“Luckily for him, ram sellers at Owode in Ogun State called him a few minutes after that they saw a man who came with a ram on a motorcycle looking for a buyer.
“The complainant told them the mark placed on the ram, the people saw the number on the ram and the accused was handed over to the police,” he said.
The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.