A dispatch rider, Shamsu Sani, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by the Wuse Zone II Magistrate Court for absconding with his employer’s goods worth N3.5 million.

The Senior Magistrate, Okpe Ibrahim, sentenced Sani after he pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust, cheating and theft.

While Mr Okpe did not give the convict the option of a fine, he said that the punishment would have been stiffer if the convict had not saved the court from the rigours of protracted prosecution.

Sani, 28, of Ruga village in Wuye Abuja, had earlier pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.

The prosecuting counsel, Donatus Abah had informed the court that the management of a business outfit, Hadizah’s Fabrics petitioned the FCT Commissioner of Police on May 16, 2024.

According to Abah, Sani who worked as a delivery agent with Hadiza’s Fabric was sent to deliver goods worth N3.5 million to a customer.

He said the convict collected the goods and sold them to some unknown persons and went ahead to convert the money to his personal use and absconded.

The prosecutor told the court that the convict was later arrested and handed over to the police for proper investigation.

The prosecutor further stated that during the police investigation, the convict made a confessional statement and that all efforts made to recover the goods failed.

Mr Abah said that the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 322, 324 and 288 of the Penal Code law.