Senior Magistrates’ Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced a businessman, John Kenneth, 22, to three years in prison for duping a woman of N200,000.
Kenneth, who resides at Angwan Cement, Life Camp, Abuja, was charged with joint act and cheating.
The Senior Magistrate, Mr Abdullateef Abolaji, sentenced Kenneth after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
He, however, gave Kenneth an option of N5,000 fine.
Abolaji also ordered the convict to pay N200,000 as compensation to the complainant.
The senior magistrate said: “Agreed that you admitted to the crime and begged for leniency, but you must be punished in order to serve as deterrent not only to you but also to future offenders.
“It is disheartening that the case of cheating and 419 is very rampant in the Federal Capital Territory and you did not show any sign of remorse for your actions. I hereby sentence John Kenneth to 3 years in prison with a fine option of N5,000. Kenneth is also ordered to pay a compensation of N200,000 to the complainant, Miss Ade John.’’
Earlier, the prosecutor, Cpl. Simon Emmanuel, had told the court that Joseph of Karmo village, Abuja, lodged the complaint at the Life Camp Police Station on Oct. 6, 2013.
Emmanuel said in August 2013, the complainant boarded a cab from the Airport Junction to Kado Life Camp in the FCT.
He said while on transit, the accused deceived the complainant and diverted the vehicle to Dape Village where he deceitfully collected the amount from her.
He said Kenneth promised to give Ade a laptop and dollars in exchange for the money.
He said the convict ran to an unknown destination until he was arrested by the police and all effort to recover the money from him proved abortive.
The accused, however, pleaded guilty to the charges. NAN
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