Chief Magistrate Court II, in Yola, Adamawa state on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a businessman, Ali Yakubu, to two years in prison for calling Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, father of all thieves in Nigeria.
He was also sentenced to six months in prison, without an option of fine, for disturbing public peace.
Yakubu was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for using what the court held as an uncouth language against Governor Fintiri.
The sentence gave the convict an option of N50, 000 fine for using abusive language against Fintiri. However, he was convicted for 6 months without an option of fine for disturbance of public peace.
Magistrate Japhet Ibrahim Basani found the businessman guilty, hence his conviction for the 2 offences as charged by the prosecution team.
SaharaReporters had reported that Yakubu on the11th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 20th and 29th of July, 2021 wrote and posted his views about the governor in Hausa and Fulfulde on his Facebook page.
He described Fintiri in the post as “father of all thieves in Nigeria” who allegedly stole noodles and hundreds of billions of naira.
Earlier, counsel for the complainant, A. M. Iliyasu, and M. A. Adamu called 2 witnesses who testified in court and tendered confessional statements in English and Hausa respectively.
On his part, counsel for the defendant and now convict, R. N. Agav, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, informing the court that his client was a first-time offender.
However, the court proceeded and sentenced Yakubu to two years in prison with an option of fine.
He also sentenced the convict to six months without an option of fine, implying that the convict must spend the next six months behind bars.
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