Hajiya Hauwa Kulu Isah, of the Minna Chief Magistrate Court No1 has sentenced five persons among them, two ex-convicts to a total of
27 years jail terms with hard labour.
The two ex-convicts were sentenced to share a total of 12 years among themselves without an option of fine while the remaining three to share 16 years among themselves.
The two ex-convicts are Haruna and Aliyu, Mohammed Habib while Sani Adamu, Ibrahim Adamu and Sadiq Sani were all to serve the total of 16 years imprisonment with an option of N200,000 fines.
The police authority in Tudunwada divisional command charged them before the chief Magistrate Court No1 on two count charge which bordered on criminal conspiracy and extortion.
According to the Police prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Yakubu Kuta the offences contravened section 97 and 272 of the penal code law.
He told the court that the five suspects were on the 5th of September 2022 intercepted them while on their Keke Napep by a team of surveillance patrol detective attached to Tudunwada divisional Police station led by Asp Yusuf Saheed.
He further told the court that the Napep with the registration number Niger 172 MN BC LG 6566, “while a search was conducted on them, a long knife and a Cutlass, 2 Android phones model techno spark 5 respectively were found in their possession.
“During further Police investigation you all confessed to have extorted one Kabiru Ibrahim of Zamfara state and one Abbas Abubakar Jigo of Sauke Kahuta area of Minna of the two phones.”
When the two count charge were read to them by the Chief Magistrate Hajiya Hauwa Kulu Isah, they all pleaded guilty to the charges.
The Police prosecutor told the presiding Chief Magistrate that two of the convicts were an ex-convicts who were just in June, 2022 convicted by a Minna chief Magistrate Court No 3 for theft of motorcycles.
“Your worship, two of them were in June convicted by the Chief Magistrate Court No. 3 to six months imprisonment with an option of N25,000 fine.
“Your worship, I apply for summary trial to be invoked on them in accordance with the provision of section 157 of the criminal procedure code” (CPC).
While passing the sentence on them Hauwa Kulu Isah expressed concern on the increasing involvement of youths in drugs and criminal related cases.
“As youths that are suppose to be leaders of tomorrow they are wasting their lives on drugs and in haste to reap what you did not sow. Certainly crime doesn’t pay.
“Less than two months you were convicted by a court yet you did not turn a new leaf. It means you are not ready to change for good. Maybe with a maximum punishment to be metted on you it may be you turning point.
“For the offence of conspiracy, you are to serve six months in jail without an option of fine, and for the offence of extortion you are sentenced to five years imprisonment without an option of fine.
“Three of you with all indications are habitual criminals even though the law has not caught up with you before now, but now that the law has caught up with you, you are sentenced to five years imprisonment on the offence of extortion with N200,000 fine option and six months imprisonment with N10,000 fine option” she ruled.
