The Chief Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, has sentenced two persons, Buba Bello and Abubakar Umar to five years’ imprisonment each with hard labour for stealing 14 cows worth N2.5 million.

The police charged Bello, 30, and Umar, 26, with criminal conspiracy, intimidation, trespass, theft and extortion.

Chief Magistrate Munir Sani convicted and sentenced the defendants after they pleaded guilty to the charges and begged for leniency.

Mr Sani sentenced the convicts to one year in imprisonment for each offence without an option of a fine. He also ordered the convicts to pay compensation of N165,000 to the nominal complainants.

Prosecution counsel Abdullahi Tanko told the court that the matter was reported on February 3 at Gwagwalada Police Station, by Muhamodu Bello and Usman Dikko, of Dukpa Village Gwagwalada, Abuja.

Mr Tanko said on January 21, the convicts and Mr Umar, now at large, conspired, trespassed into Mr Bello’s (first complainant’s) cattle farm and stole 14 cows worth N2.5 million.

He said the convicts later called and demanded N250,000 from him before they would release the cattle to him, and the first complainant sent N150,000 to the convicts through a point of sale (POS) account number, which they sent to him.

Mr Tanko said that the convicts later released 11 cows, sold three valued N1.1 million to an unknown person for N250,000 and converted the money to their personal use.

He said the convicts threatened to kill Dikko (second complainant) if he dared search for them.

(NAN)