A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Monday sentenced 34-year-old labourer, Theophilus Joseph, to four weeks imprisonment for stealing shoe polish valued N350.
The judge, Mr Inuwa Maiwada, however, gave the convict an option of N3,000 fine and warned him to be of good behaviour.
The convict, who resides opposite Utako Village, Abuja, had admitted committing the offence of theft and begged the court for leniency.
He told the court that he did not know what came over him when he committed the crime.
The prosecutor, Ijeoma Ukagha, told the court that one Ibrahim Muktari, of Chumelac Super Market, Jabi, Abuja, reported the incident at the Utako Police Station, on Feb. 13.
According to Ukagha, the complainant, Joseph criminally entered his shop and stole one shoe polish valued N350.
He said that Joseph was caught in the process of taking away the stolen item and the polish was recovered from his pocket.
The prosecutor said that during police investigation, it was discovered that he had stolen other goods worth N17, 000, from the shop.
He said Joseph had been stealing from the shop since 2018.
Ukagha said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 288 of the Penal Code. (NAN)
