Court jails 5 men for buying, selling stolen cow

A Dutse Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday sentenced, Nura Sani, 20 and Isa Kasim, 20, to five months imprisonment, for buying stolen cow.

News Agency of Nigeria {NAN} reported that the court also sentence Yusuf Ahmed, Abdullahi Useni, and Ladodo Umaru, to three months imprisonment for buying and selling a stolen cow’s meat.

The defendants, Sani, 20 and Kasim,20, residents of Kogo II, and Ahmed,31, Useni, 40, and Umaru, 35, residents of Baran goni in Bwari, were arraigned for dishonestly receiving stolen property.

They all pleaded guilty to the charge.

The judge, Mr. Ado Ahmed, gave Sani and Kasim an option to pay a fine of N5,000 each, while Ahmed, Useni and Umaru were given an option of N3,000 fines each.

He said: ``Why would you buy something you know is worth more, for a cheaper rate and still pretend it is okay.

``You must be punished so that it serves as a deterrent to others. When those who steal to sell don't find buyers for the stolen items, the trend will stop,’’ he said.

The Prosecutor, Mrs Agnes Aluko-Adewumi, Senior State Counsel, told the court that Musa Abdullahi was arrested for theft of a cow sometime in January.
She said that during police investigation, Abdullahi confessed that he stole a female cow belonging to Ibrahim Babangida on Jan. 21 at 10 p.m.

The cow, she said, was valued at N200,000. 

She said Abdullahi sold the cow to the defendants Sani, Kasim and Lawal now at large who jointly bought the cow at the rate of N40,000.
She explained: "They butchered the cow at a bush close to Kogo II in Bwari.
``They sold the meat in Bwari market to Ahmed, Useni and Umaru at the rate of N51,500.

``And they converted the money to their own use having reason to believe that the cow was stolen.’’

She said the offence contravened Section 317 of the Penal Code.