An Ekiti State Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, has sentenced a 20-year-old lady, Mary Idris, and her collaborator, Victor Olawusi, aged 18, to two weeks community service for faking a kidnap.
The court also ordered the convicts to undergo two weeks counselling for the offence.
We brought you the report last week of Mary, who travelled from Ado Ekiti from Akure, the Ondo State capital, on 9 August 2020, arranged with Victor her friend to send a message to her parents that she had been kidnapped and that her abductors were demanding ransom.
Monica Ikebulo, The police prosecutor, said the convicts “did conduct themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace by hiding their whereabouts and demanding a ransom from Mary’s parents on the basis that she had been kidnapped.”
Mary, however, confessed that she went to her boyfriend’s house at Akure to catch fun and ran out of money to make her way back to Ado Ekiti and this made her send the alarming message to her parents.
Adefunke Anoma, The Chief Magistrate, said, “This is sadly a sign of high immoral behaviour that has eaten deep in our society.”
The chief Magistrate frowned on Mary’s action for leaving the comfort of her home only to go and stay at a guesthouse for four days.
However, she ordered that “The community and counselling services are to run simultaneously and the convicts are to report back to the court at the expiration of the said two weeks,”.
According to the Chief Magistrate, while the Chief Security Officer of the Ekiti State Judiciary will supervise the community service, the Court Registrar will supervise the counselling.