A thief terrorising workers and students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
A statement by the university spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju, said Odionye Wilson was arrested by the security unit of the institution when the students, who were sitting for an examination, dropped their belongings as is customary of them during examinations.
The 23-year-old convict, who claimed to be a rusticated student, told the security team during interrogation that he belonged to a seven-man syndicate that specialised in coming to OAU to rob people and steal their belongings.
He was subsequently handed over to the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police, “A” Division, Ile-Ife, which arraigned him and secured his conviction.
Wilson and others at large, on July 31, at about 1625:00 hours, at the ICT centre, OAU, Ile- Ife, stole one Itel S31 phone valued at N29,950:00, property of Abayomi Oluwatobiloba; one IPad phone, valued at N200,000:00; one itel phone valued at N7,000:00; and one BlackBerry phone valued at N45,000:00, total value- N252,000:00, property of Ilegieuno Ibrahim.
Other items stolen included: Tecno Canon X phone valued at N50,000:00 and one Tecno 66 phone valued at N8,000:00, property of Ajayi Jonathan. Rukayat Olajide’s Tecno Pop phone valued at N38,000:00; a Tecno phone valued at N5,000:00, a phone charger valued at N3,000:00 and N5,000:00 were also stolen.
In a charge sheet No: MIF/305/2019, Commissioner of Police versus Odionye Wilson, male, aged 23, Magistrate Owolawi found him guilty on counts one, two and three and accordingly sentenced him to five years on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently.
