A Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has sentenced a hotel worker, Damilola Adesugba, to three months community service for her failure to remit N437,000 into the establishment’s account.

The President of the Court, S.M. Akintayo, said that the conviction and sentence of Adesugba followed the evidence tendered against her by the complainant, Sunday Afuye.

Ms Akintayo held that the convict also admitted that she was the only one in charge of buying and selling of goods at the hotel.

She said that Adesugba’s inability to account for how the proceeds of sale disappeared was enough to find her guilty.

The court’s president consequently sentenced Adesugba to three months of community service and also ordered that the sum of N437,000 should be restituted to Mr Afuye within three months of the judgment.

The convict had shortly before the judgment pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing her.

Earlier, the prosecutor, inspector Ayodele Ayeni informed the court that Adesugba committed the crime between January and May 2023, at a hotel in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The offences, the prosecutor said, contravened sections 382 and 396 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State, 2000

The complainant, Afuye, in his testimony during trial informed the court that the convict was the only employee working as a sales personnel in the hotel.

He said that over a period of time, it was observed that sales of drinks at the bar in the hotel, P.O.A. Guest House, fell short of N437,000

Mr Afuye said that the convict behaved as if she did not understand anything about the misappropriation when he confronted her.

“My Lord, the only time the account of the sale tallied were the three days when Adesugba was absent from work. I did not interfere with how she went about her work initially because I trusted her. The whole incident took place in 2023 during the cashless period when there was reduction in sales of everything,” Mr Afuye explained.

In her defence, Adesugba acknowledged that her boss, Mr Afuye, paid her N25,000 monthly salary, but that she could not account for how N437,000 was missing in her care.

 (NAN)