An Iyaganku Magistrate’s Court in Ibadan has sentenced 39-year-old Ezekiel Onikoyi, a fraudster, to two weeks in prison for stealing a woman’s handbag containing a phone, power bank, and N4,000. Onikoyi, whose address was not disclosed, faced charges of theft, obtaining money under false pretenses, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. He pleaded guilty to all three charges when they were read to him.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Samuel Owolabi, informed the court that Onikoyi committed the crimes on March 14 at 11:30 p.m. near the old toll gate on the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway. Owolabi explained that Onikoyi, posing as a prophet, deceived Mrs. Balkis Adeoti, who was returning from work. The defendant claimed to have a revelation for her and instructed her to leave her bag behind, walk a short distance to a junction, and place a N100 note there to resolve her problems.
According to the prosecutor, Adeoti followed the instructions, but when she returned, Onikoyi and her bag were gone. He had taken her handbag containing a phone, a power bank valued at N220,000, and N4,000 in cash. Owolabi further stated that the power bank was later recovered from Onikoyi, but the phone remained missing.
The charges contravened sections 390 (9), 419, and 249 (d) of the Criminal Laws of Oyo State, 2000. Magistrate Gladys Oladele found Onikoyi guilty as charged and sentenced him to two weeks of imprisonment at the Agodi Correctional Centre in Ibadan. However, Oladele gave him the option of serving one month of community service instead.
Additionally, she ordered the return of the power bank to the complainant.