Court jails businessman 14 months for cheating

An Upper Area Court sitting in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, on Wednesday sentenced a 29-year-old businessman, Peter Inusa, to 14 months imprisonment for cheating.

Inusa, a resident of Jata Village, Keffi, Nasarawa State, had pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and cheating and begged for leniency.

The Upper Area Court judge, Ibrahim Shekarau sentence Inusa to six months imprisonment for breach of trust and eight months imprisonment for cheating.

Shekarau, however gave him an option of N14,000 as fines, with fine of breach of N6, 000 for breach of trust and N8,000.fine for cheating.

He said the sentences would run concurrently while the convict should pay the complainant N240, 000 for the amount of the woods he failed to supply as promised on or before Oct. 31.

The Area court judge said if the convict default he would spend additional one month imprisonment.

Shekarau warned him to desist from crime and be faithful in his business in the future.

The Prosecutor, Mr Hemen Donald, had told the court that Amobi Okafor of Building Material, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, reported the matter at the ‘A’ Divisional Police Station on Oct. 5.

Donald said that sometime in September, 2016 the the complainant entrusted N240,000 to the convict for the supply of woods.

He told the court that the convict deliberately refused to supply the woods “but instead, absconded to an unknown destination, until he was arrested on the Oct.5.

Donald said the offence contravened sections 312 and 322of the Penal Code.