Two young men who pleaded guilty to stealing tubers of yam and begged the court for leniency, saying they were compelled by hunger to commit the crime, have been punished.
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A Kubwa Grade 1 Area Court, has sentenced two convicts to five strokes of cane for stealing 20 tubers of yam.
The convicts are Habakuk Sunday and Monday Dikko.
Both convicts, who reside in Ija village, Suleja, Niger State, were found guilty and were each sentenced for joint act, criminal trespass and theft.
The judge, Mohammed Marafa, ordered that each of the convicts be given five strokes of cane and warned them to desist from committing crime.
Both convicts, who pleaded guilty, had begged the court for leniency, saying they were compelled by hunger to commit the crime.
Earlier, the prosecutor Babajide Olanipekun, told the court that Hyginus Anyadiegwu reported the matter at the Kubwa Police Station on November 21.
He said the convicts conspired and criminally trespassed into the complainant’s farm at Byazin, Kubwa, Abuja and stole 20 tubers of yams.
He told the court that police arrested the accused persons, while trying to sell the tuber of yams valued at N15, 000.
The prosecutor added that police detectives had recovered the yams.
Mr. Olanipekun said that the offence contravened Sections 79, 346 and 287 of the Penal Code.
The defence counsel, Moses Ugwumadu, in his plea for mercy, told the court that both accused had spent about a month in detention before their arraignment.
He, therefore urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
(NAN)