A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Akure, Ondo State, has sentenced 22-year old Emmanuel Godfrey to 18 months in prison for stealing 35 tubers of yams.
The court handed down the sentence after Godfrey admitted to the theft, after he admitted that he stole the tubers of yams because he was hungry.
According to the charge sheet, Godfrey was accused of stealing the yams from a farm owned by Sunday Chinedu in Awogbamigbe, Oba-Ile, Akure North Local Government area on August 29, 2025.
After listening to his charge, the defendant, who had no legal representation, pleaded guilty to the one-count charge bordering on theft, brought against him by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)
The charge stated: “That you, Emmanuel Godfrey, on August 29, 2025, at Awogbamigbe, Oba-Ile, Akure North Local Government area, did commit felony by entering a farm belonging to Sunday Chinedu to steal 35 tubers of yam, which you uprooted from the ground.”
NSCDC prosecutor, T.O. Gbadebo informed the court that the offence contravenes Sections 383(1) and (2) of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Vol 1, Law of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.
Gbadebo explained that Chinedu reported the theft to the NSCDC office in Akure on September 2, noting that the defendant had stolen the yams on two separate occasions.
He urged the court to convict the defendant according to his plea, saying the defendant had been earlier pardoned by the community for committing a similar offence.
