An Upper Area Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, on Monday sentenced a 38-year-old man, Danjuma Yaro, to 10 months imprisonment for selling a fake plot of land worth N1.5 million.
The convict, who resides in Pasali village, Kuje, FCT, was charged with criminal breach of trust and cheating.The Judge, Sani Umar, in his ruling sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.
Umar, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N10,000 fine for each offence or in default serve a jail term of five months on each offence which would run consecutively.
“The reason for this sentence is that the convict did not waste the time of the court in telling the truth, he has shown remorse to the act.
“His counsel has also sought for an option of fine, he is a first time offender and has certain responsibility as a father,” he held.
The judge, however, awarded N1.5 million as compensation as prayed by the Prosecution Counsel, Abdullahi Tanko, on behalf of the nominal complainant.
He said that the compensation was not in lieu of prison but a reasonable instalment payment.
He warned him to desist from committing crime.
Earlier, Tanko told the court that the complainant, Dele Ani of No 61 Kayarda extension layout, Kuje reported the matter at the Gwagwalada Area Command office on Jan. 28.
He said that the complainant reported that the convict and one Yahaya Idris, who is standing trial before the same court, on Feb. 2, 2021 conspired and sold a plot of land to the complainant located behind LEA secretariat measuring 100 by 100 ft for N1.5 million.
Tanko said when the complainant later discovered that the land belonged to another person.
He said that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.
The Defence Counsel, Owobu Godday, in his plea for allocutus prayed the court to tamper justice with mercy, saying that the convict was a family man and the bread winner.
Godday prayed the court to grant his client an option of fine.
