A 22-year-old scavenger has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by a Grade I Area Court in Abuja, on Monday for destroying Abuja Electricity Distribution Company’s transformer fence and stealing.
The police charged Awal Abdullahi of Chikakore junction Byazhin, Abuja with mischief and theft.
Abdullahi, pleaded guilty to the charge and begged for leniency.
The Judge, Mr Sulyman Ola , gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N40,000.
Ola also ordered the convict to pay N50, 000 compensation for the damaged fence.
Ola warned the convict to desist from committing crimes.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Chinedu Ogada, told the court that the convict committed the offence on Aug 1 and was caught and brought to Kubwa Police for proper investigation.
Ogada said that on the same date at about 6 a.m the convict criminally and maliciously broke into AEDC transformer fence worth N 50,000 and stole the transformer cover.
Ogada said that during police interrogation and investigation, the convict could not give a satisfactory account of his action.
The prosecutor said the transformer covers was recovered from the convict and the offence contravened the provisions of sections 327 and 287 of the Penal Code.