There was a mild drama in a Badagry Chief Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, as a nominal complainant, James Bassey, broke down in tears to beg for leniency for a drycleaner, Puis Savoir, who was sentenced to one month for stealing a pressing iron and N20,000.
Chief Magistrate Patrick Adekomaiya sentenced Mr Savior, following his guilty plea and presentation of the facts of the case.
The chief magistrate, in sentencing the convict, held that as a first-time offender, the court would be lenient. He thereby sentenced Mr Savior to one month imprisonment; seven days in prison, and the remaining three weeks in Morogbo Police Station, where he would be reporting daily for community service.
Immediately after the sentence, Mr Bassey burst into tears and pleaded that the convict should be pardoned.
“My Lord, I don’t have a wife or children; it is this convict that always takes care of me.
“He used to help me do all my domestic work and massage me, but the habit of stealing my things is too much, that is why I reported him when he stole my money and pressing iron.
“If you sentence him to prison now, nobody will be assisting me, and this could lead to my death,” he said.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Ikem Uko, told the court that the convict committed the offence on July 6 at about 7:00 p.m. at Yeponnawa Str. Church-Gate, Lagos.
Mr Uko reported that the convict stole a pressing iron and N20,000 from Mr Bassey,the complainant.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.