The Magistrate Court sitting in Iragbiji has sentenced 20-year-old Olabosipo Waliyu to 24 months imprisonment for theft of cocoa beans valued at ₦200,000. According to the charge sheet, the defendant was arraigned before Magistrate O. D. Ajiboye on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, with a single count charge of stealing.
The charge stemmed from the theft of cocoa belonging to one Okunola Morufu at Gbamila Village, Iragbiji. The case was brought before the court by the Amotekun Corps after the defendant was arrested by the Amotekun Corps, Boripe Command.
The prosecutor, Oyedele Akintayo, presented a single-count charge of stealing before the court, to which the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge. Upon his plea, the prosecutor immediately outlined the facts of the case, which the court accepted, leading to a conviction.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Ajiboye, who found the defendant guilty as charged, imposed a sentence of 24 months imprisonment without an option of fine, citing “the defendant’s previous conviction for a similar offence earlier in the year.”
In her ruling, Magistrate Ajiboye described the defendant as a serial offender and emphasised that the stiff sentence was necessary to serve as both a deterrent and corrective measure.
The defendant, Olabosipo Waliyu, was convicted of cocoa theft earlier in 2025 and was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment with an option of a ₦50,000 fine, which was paid on his behalf by a good Samaritan.
However, following his release, he allegedly went back to crime and committed the same offence.