Central Area Court sitting in Kasuwan Nama in Jos on Friday, sentenced a 15-year-old student, Bilal Ibrahim to six months in prison for stealing two dogs.
A panel of two magistrates, Ghazali Adam and Hyacinth Dolnaan, who sentenced Ibrahim after he pleaded guilty to the offense, however, gave him an option to pay a fine of N20,000 or spend three months in prison.
The magistrates also ordered the convict to pay N50,000 in damages and in default to spend another three months in prison.
They said that the judgment would serve as a deterrent to those who would want to indulge in such criminal act.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Gokwat told the court that the case was reported at the Angwan Rogo Police Station on Jan. 21, by Hamisu Idris of Angwan Rogo Jos, who was the complainant.
Gokwat said that the convict conspired with Alias Khalifa, now at large, and stole the complainant’s dogs worth N50,000.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 272 of the Plateau State Penal Code Law