Lagos court sentences man to two years imprisonment for stealing iPhone from woman he met online

‎A 37-year-old man who allegedly used an online dating arrangement to lure a woman to a hotel and steal her iPhone XS Max has been convicted and sentenced to two years and one month imprisonment by a Lagos State Special Offences Mobile Court.

‎The convict, Jeriq Enejo, was found guilty of breaching the peace and stealing the iPhone XS Max valued at N350,000, belonging to one Sopia Ojojo.

According to the prosecution, Enejo invited the complainant to a hotel under the guise of a date after the pair met online. 

‎While at the hotel, he fraudulently stole her phone and later confessed during interrogation that he sold it to an unidentified buyer by the roadside for N45,000.

‎The prosecution counsel, Oluwabusola Omotunde, told the court that the defendant was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on breach of peace and stealing, offences contrary to Sections 168(1)(d) and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

‎When the charges were read to him, Enejo pleaded guilty to both counts.

‎In his judgment, the Presiding Magistrate, Adefioye F.J., held that the defendant had no justification for his actions, noting that he admitted it was the second time he had committed a similar offence.

‎The court subsequently sentenced him to one month imprisonment for breach of peace and two years imprisonment without the option of a fine for stealing.

The sentences are to run consecutively.