by ‘Jola Sotubo

An Abuja man has been sentenced to spend a year in prison after being found guilty of stealing from a church.

Ademola Ayeni, 36, had the sentenced passed down on him yesterday after he was convicted on charges of theft for making away with the offerings of the church members.

Ayeni had been previously convicted of the same offence after he stole from the same church last year.

Eagle Online reports:

The Magistrate, Khadijat Mustapha, convicted Ayeni, 36, after he pleaded guilty to the offence of theft and did not give the convict an option of fine.

Mustapha said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to those who might want to engage in similar acts.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Sergeat Simon Ibrahim, told the court that Ojo Oyeyemi of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, Utako, reported the matter at the Utako Police Station on November 15.

Ibrahim said the convict criminally trespassed into the church just after they had concluded church service and stole an offering bag containing N50,800.

He said the convict also stole Zenith Bank and Fidelity Bank cheques of N150,000 and N50,000 respectively.

The prosecutor told the court that the convict was a habitual offender and had stolen from the same church in 2012.

Ibrahim said: “He stole from the same church last year.
“He was charged before a different court and was sentenced to one year imprisonment. “In fact, he was just released from prison just last week. “I don’t think he is ready to change.”