A Magistrate Court in Makurdi, Benue State, on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a 26-year-old carpenter, Alex Terver, to one year imprisonment for stealing an Oppo mobile phone valued at N185,000.

Terver who lives at Number 5, Tafawa Balewa Street, High Level, Makurdi was charged with criminal breach of trust and theft.

The Presiding Magistrate, Ada Jack, who convicted and sentenced Terver, however gave him an option of N100,000 fine.

The magistrate also ordered the convict to pay N210,000 compensation to the owner of the phone.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Inspector Jonah Uletu, told the court that the case was reported to the Anti-Cultism Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Makurdi, following a petition written by the complainant, Silvanus Okofa.

According to Mr Uletu, the complainant said that sometime in August 2026, Terver went to his sister-in-law’s shop, known as Mama Ebuka, and collected her Oppo mobile phone valued at N185,000 under the pretext of making a telephone call.

He said, “After collecting the phone under the pretext of making a call, he ran away with it to an unknown destination.”

The prosecutor said that the complainant also told the police that Terver later sold the phone to another person for N27,000 and converted the money to his personal use.

Mr Okofa said that during police investigation, the convict was arrested and he confessed to committing the offence.

He said the offences contravened Sections 312 and 288 of the Penal Code Law of Benue, 2004.

(NAN)