An Osogbo High Court yesterday sentenced a 31-year-old Kelvin Igha-Igbodalo, (picture withheld), to 45 years imprisonment without an option of fine for
stealing a Sony Ericson phone worth about N50,000 belonging to Osun State
Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
Ighodalo stole the phone from the pocket of Aregbesola on November 27, 2010, when the governor was being inaugurated at Government Technical College, Osogbo.
Justice
Oyejide Falola, who heard the case, found Ighodalo guilty on six counts, which
included conspiracy, stealing and fraud.
He was
sentenced to 10-year imprisonment for the first three counts and five years for
each of the last three which included impersonation, obtaining property by
falsehood and collusion.
Falola, who ruled that Ighodalo deserved the jail term, held that the
convict used the phone to obtain N500, 000 from the Owa of Ilesa, Oba Adekunle
Aromolaran, while he obtained N200, 000 from Mr Shengen Rahman, an associate of
the governor.
The jail term, which Falola pronounced will run concurrently, means that
Ighodalo will spend the next 10 years behind bars.
Assistant principal state counsel, Mr Biodun Badiora, told the court
that the convict had served six-year imprisonment in Ikoyi prison custody in
connection with a murder case in 2005.
Counsel to Ighodalo, Mr. Ameachi Ngwu, prayed the court to commit him to
community service, stressing that the convict should not be incarcerated but
rather be placed where people could see him as a convict.
We believe
others will learnt from it.
source: punch
