Six (6) Adamawa State Rice Farmers have been convicted and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to the allegations of breach of trust and cheating.
The convicted farmers have also been ordered by Hon. Abdulrazak Adamu led Chief Magistrate Court Yola to produce 1,088 bags of rice as compensation to the complainant, Umar Ismaila.
The affected farmers were earlier arraigned before the Magistrate Court on 2 count charges bordering breach of trust and cheating contrary to sections 302 and 312 of the state penal code law.
They were said to have differently collected a loan from the complainant sometimes in the year 2020 with a promise to refund at the end rainy season but defaulted.
When they were arraigned in court on 6th January, 2021 in connection with the alleged offence, they all pleaded guilty, and asked the court to grant them bail which the court did as prayed.
In its separate ruling on the cases on Tuesday, the Court presided over by Hon. Abdulrazak Adamu, ruled that the court had listened to their plea of guilt that they had indeed committed the offence, and that the court is very much convinced that the plea was voluntarily.
According to him, the court is also convinced that the plea was voluntary, and that the accused were aware of their plea and consequences of their action to warrant conviction.
He held that in view of the plea of leniency made and considering the antecedents of the accused persons of being first offenders, the court was left with no option than to convict them accordingly.
It was at this juncture that the Honourable Judge convicted and sentenced Hon. Chinda Elam, of Thingno in Lamurde Local Government Area to 3 years imprisonment with ##250,000 option of fine and further ordered him to produce 535 bags of rice as compensation to the complainant.
Other convictions are as follows: Lazarus Bari of Namtari village in Yola south LGA, 2 years imprisonment with #100,000 option of fine and 100 bags of rice, Levi Markus of Rugange village in Lamurde LGA, 2 years jail term, #100,000 option of fine and 16 bags of rice and Umar H. Tukur of Namtari village 2 years imprisonment and #100,000 option of fine and 140 bags of rice.
Others include; Ishiaku Heman of Rugange village in Lamurde LGA 2 years in prison, #100,000 option of fine and 72 bags of rice, and Hon. Sajo Hamman of Malabu, 3 years, #100,000 option of fine and 225 bags of rice also as compensation to the complainant and that the jail terms are to run concurrently.
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