Court jails 19-year-old trader for robbing elderly woman in Jos

A Magistrates’ Court in Jos has sentenced a 19-year-old trader to nine months in prison for robbing an elderly woman at her residence.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, issued the sentence after the defendant pleaded guilty. In his ruling, Bokkos allowed the convict the option to pay a fine of N20,000 to reduce the jail term to six months.

Additionally, the convict was ordered to pay the victim N30,000 in damages. Failure to do so would result in an extra three months in prison.

The prosecutor, Inspector Ibrahim Gokwat, informed the court that the crime was reported on August 23 by Umar Adamu at the Laranto Police Station. Gokwat revealed that the convict and accomplices—still at large—entered the elderly woman’s home, stole her belongings, including a mobile phone and a bag containing the Holy Quran, and threatened her with a knife to keep her silent.

The convict was apprehended following a police investigation, with the offense breaching the Plateau State Penal Code.