For stealing a N50,000 Sony Ericsson phone belonging to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, a 31-year-old Kelvin Ighodalo has been sentenced to 45-year imprisonment by an Osogbo High Court.

Ighodalo stole the phone from the pocket of Aregbesola on November 27, 2010, when the governor was being inaugurated at Government Technical College, Osogbo.

Justice Oyejide Falola, who heard the case, found Ighodalo guilty on six counts, which included conspiracy, stealing and fraud.

He was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment for the first three counts and five years for each of the last three which included impersonation, obtaining property by falsehood and collusion.

Falola, who ruled that Ighodalo deserved the jail term, held that the convict used the phone to obtain N500, 000 from the Owa of Ilesa, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, while he obtained N200, 000 from Mr Shengen Rahman, an associate of the governor.

The jail term, which Falola pronounced will run concurrently, means that Ighodalo will spend the next 10 years behind bars.

Assistant principal state counsel, Mr Biodun Badiora, told the court that the convict had served six-year imprisonment in Ikoyi prison custody in connection with a murder case in 2005.

Counsel to Ighodalo, Mr. Ameachi Ngwu, prayed the court to commit him to community service, stressing that the convict should not be incarcerated but rather be placed where people could see him as a convict.


http://www.punchng.com/news/man-jailed-45-years-for-stealing-aregbesolas-phone/

[size=13pt]What a shame[/size]

.

Nigeria still has a very long way to go...

45YEARS Jail Term??.. Without an Option of fine?.

iebanehita: 45YEARS Jail Term??.. Without an Option of fine?.

Yes & without an option

Why them no kill the guy make evrybody knw say he don commot 4 dis world...45yrs + 35yrs =80 wetin him wan do 4 dis world again? R.I.P 2 thee convict.

WIZGUY69: Why them no kill the guy make evrybody knw say he don commot 4 dis world...45yrs + 35yrs =80 wetin him wan do 4 dis world again? R.I.P 2 thee convict.

My brother the thing tire me oh...

And I believe the Judicial system is perfect. Smh for the many Bigger thieves walking freely in Nigeria

Guys, come on. Please take a few minutes to read and comprehend before commenting. I mean no disrespect but this is getting embarrassing. It is the second time on this same topic I have had to point out the obvious that show many of you simply do not even bother reading anything presented to you. you just see the headline and comment emotionally.

He is only spending 10 years in jail because his sentences for all charges run concurrent to the highest single sentence received and even the article points this out clearly. He faced 6 charges in total to include some charges for serious crimes related to the theft of the phone. Add to all that the fact that this is a repeat offender who had previously served a 6-year sentence for a conviction linked with murder. The legal proviso consequent upon his release is "go and sin no more". Yet he ignored that and has now offended again.

The jail term, which Falola pronounced will run concurrently, means that Ighodalo will spend the next 10 years behind bars.

Culled from Fagro

Let’s frame this argument properly and look beyond the party affiliation and person involved. And let’s read beyond the headline. There’s nothing wrong in the judgments passed by a court of competent jurisdiction on Kelvin Ighodalo – the young man who stole the Governor’s phone. The 45 years are to run concurrently. It means he is to spend 10 years in prison. In prison, a day is 12 hours. It further means he is to spend 5 years in prison.

It isn’t about the phone but what he did with it - duped an Oba and the Governor’s friend. This guy was Governor while it lasted! And who steals a governor’s phone in Nigeria, given those mean looking security details around them, if not a criminal. Let’s also not forget that Kelvin has been in prison once in connection with a murder case. So this was another evidence used against him in court.

The phone was stolen in 2010. It means he has spent 3 years behind bar and so has about 2 more years left of his sentence.

Our argument should not be that the judgment was wrong but that there is no equality in our penal system. Yusuf (the pension thief) gets a slap on the wrist and Kelvin does not. How Kelvin and the several Yusufs among us get equality in the eye of the law should be our apprehension. Because one judge refuses to do the right thing does not mean others should.

It’s sad enough that it took three years for him to have his full day in court. For now, how we get mother justice to put back her blind fold should be our collective concern. She has long removed it