A Yaba Magistrate Court in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday sentenced an employee of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Fasasi, to one month imprisonment for stabbing a man, he suspected to be a thief, with a knife.

Magistrate Patrick Adekomaya, who gave the judgment, said the sentence should be served with hard labour.

Fasasi had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of causing grievous bodily harm.

The magistrate said:“With the evidence before this court and the plea of the accused, he is hereby found guilty as charged.

“But, bearing in mind that the accused is a first offender and in consideration of the peculiar facts of the case, the accused is hereby sentenced to one month imprisonment with hard labour.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Victor Eruada, had told the court that Fasasi committed the offence on 17 August at Oyingbo market.

According to him, the accused had mistaken the complainant, Gabriel Babalola, for the man, who allegedly stole some items from a shop and stabbed him.

“The accused ran after the complainant to apprehend him for stealing. He asked him to surrender his bag, but he refused.

“In the process, the accused brought out a knife and stabbed the complainant on his hand and collected the bag.

“Unfortunately, the owner of the shop said the complainant was not the one who stole the items,’’ Eruada said.

He said both the accused and the complainant were taken to the police station by men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol.

Eruada said the offence contravened Section 171 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State.

– PM News