Ondo Monarch Handed 10-years Jail Term For Unlawfully Demolishing Palm Trees And Food Crops In A Church
Oba Adewale Sunday Boboye of the Ajagun Ode of Ode community in the Akure North local government area of Ondo state was given a 10-year prison sentence by an Osi Magistrates’ Court for forcibly destroying food crops and palm trees in a church.
The defendant had previously faced six counts of felony malicious damage.
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The magistrate, Mrs. Bukola Ojo, found the defendant guilty of the charges against him and sentenced him to ten years in prison.
The pastor and laity of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, located along Ado Ekiti Road Igoba, Akure North, dragged the defendant to court for felony, specifically malicious damage, according to the prosecutor, Sergeant Ajiboye Babatunde, who read the case’s facts aloud.
The pastorate and laity of the church’s perimeter fence, which was worth about one million naira, as well as its five million-naira worth of food crops and palm trees, as well as the church’s signpost, were all allegedly illegally destroyed by the convict, according to Babatunde.
“The convict, when arrested, could not give a satisfactory account to the police,” Babatunde claimed.
Sections 516, 451, 249(d), and 81 of the Criminal Code Cap. 7 vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006, according to him, were violated by the offence.
In order to serve as a deterrent to others who might engage in a similar act, the prosecutor requested that the court punish him appropriately and called four witnesses to testify in court.
Sections 516, 451, 249(d), and 81 of the Criminal Code Cap. 7 vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006, according to him, were violated by the offence.
By way of Adeola Kayode, the convict’s attorney, the defendant denied the accusations made against him and pleaded with the court to balance mercy and justice.
In her ruling, the Magistrate found the accused guilty and sentenced them to two years in prison on count one, with the possibility of a fine of N20,000.
On counts two and three, the defendant received sentences of two years each without the option of a fine, and on count four, he received a sentence of one year in prison with a fine option of N10,000.
The defendant is given a two-year prison term without the possibility of a fine for count five.
On count six, the defendant is given a one-year prison term with the possibility of a N20,000 fine.
The complainant received compensation from the court in the amount of N5 million for damage to the perimeter fence, palm trees, and other crops.
She stated that the prison terms would be “vacated” if the defendant pays the compensation amount.
However, the imprisonment must occur simultaneously.
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