A 28- year-old Cameroonian, Thedze Dovil, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for allegedly defrauding his girlfriend, Patience Bassey, of N354,000.
The defendant was first arraigned on April 27, 2023, by the Lagos State Police Command before Magistrate P. E. Nwaka of the Yaba Magistrates’ Court on one count of stealing.
had reported on April 27, 2023, that the foreigner, who was a security guard, took his girlfriend out on her birthday to a hotel where he drugged her and she slept off, made away with her Automated Teller Machine card with which he withdrew N354, 000.
However, when Bassey regained consciousness, she immediately reported to the police and Dovil was arrested.
On arraignment, the prosecutor, Thomas Nurudeen, who held a brief for Inspector Jimoh Iseghede, stated that the offence committed contravened and was punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.
When the charges were read to him, the defendant pleaded guilty and was remanded pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
The charge read, “That you, Thedze Dovil, on April 15, 2023, around 2.20 pm at one hotel in Lohni Phase 1, Lagos within the Eti Osa Magisterial District removed one Bassey Patience’s GTB ATM card from her back pocket without her knowledge and used it to steal N354, 000 and converted same to yourself and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.”
In her ruling, Magistrate F. M. Dalley sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment but gave him an option of paying the stolen money as restitution to the complainant.
“On count one of the charges, stealing, the defendant is sentenced to three years imprisonment or pay the stolen amount of N354,000 as restitution to the complainant,” Dalley said.
She added that the defendant must pay the money within six months effective June 1, 2023.