An Osun State Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Osogbo on Monday, September 23, sentenced Sunday Ejoh, an aluminium worker, to six months imprisonment for stealing three tubers of yam. Ejoh, who appeared before Magistrate M. Olatunji, was arraigned on a single charge of theft, with the stolen yams valued at N3,000.

During the hearing, the prosecutor, Mr. Jacob Akintunde, explained that on September 22, 2024, Ejoh stole the yams from Oluwole Durojaye. Along with the stolen yams, a cutlass and a pair of slippers were recovered from the defendant. Akintunde noted that the offence was in violation of Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol. II Law of Osun State, Nigeria, 2002.

Pleading guilty to the charge, Ejoh admitted that hunger had driven him to steal. “I was hungry, and I have a family,” he told the court, offering no further defense and without legal representation.

Magistrate Olatunji, upon considering the facts of the case, sentenced Ejoh to six months imprisonment but provided an option of a N25,000 fine. The magistrate also ordered that the stolen yam tubers be returned to their rightful owner, Mr. Durojaye.