Student gets 12 strokes of cane for stealing laptop, phones

A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday, May 9, sentenced a 23-year-old student, Rabiu Garba, to 12 strokes of the cane for stealing a laptop and two cell phones.

The Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, sentenced Garba, who resides at Badiko in Kaduna, after he pled guilty to two counts of trespass and theft.

The prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Leo, had told the court that Yusuf Usman, of same address as the defendant, reported the matter at Gabasawa Police Station on May 3. 

According to Leo, Garba trespassed into the complainant’s room and made away with his laptop valued at N220,000 and two phones valued at N342,000. He said the items were recovered from the defendant while disposing them, but the laptop was no longer functional. 

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.

The convict pled guilty and appealed for leniency from the court, vowing to reform his ways.

The magistrate held that the court was lenient towards Garba because his admission of guilt meant he did not waste the court’s time. He, however, advised the convict to be of good behaviour and desist from crime in the future.