For breaking into a church and taking things worth N1,340,900, including an iron tithe box, a 38-year-old bricklayer named Olushola Olatunde was sentenced to 21 years in jail by a Magistrate Court in Akure, Ondo State.
Breaking, unauthorized entrance, and theft were among the six charges Olatunde was facing. He entered a guilty plea to the charges, but he also requested leniency.
According to D.S. Msonter-Shagba, the state prosecutor, Olatunde committed the offenses in Akure at various times and places between December 24, 2024, and January 8, 2025.
Msonter-Shagba told how Olatunde broke into the Revelation of God Miracle Church on December 24, 2024, at No. 17 Plaza Road, Isolo, Akure, and took a public address system and a 16-channel live series audio mixer valued at N250,000.
Similarly, on December 8, 2024, he broke into the Garden of Faith (CAC) Church at No. 7 Ore-Ofe Street, Oke Ijebu, Akure, and took N534,600 worth of goods, including an iron tithe box worth N35,000, two lengths of 12mm rods worth N19,600, a 6.5kV generator worth N250,000, and an amplifier worth N230,000.
On December 24, 2024, Olatunde stole 33 bags of cement worth N306,900 from Shasha Market, Kilometre 12, Owo expressway, Akure, the prosecutor further disclosed. A total of N1,340,900 was the worth of the stolen goods.
According to Msonter-Shagba, the defendant should be found guilty of violating Sections 383, 390(9), 415, and 413(2) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.
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Thus, Olatunde was found guilty and given a 21-year prison term without the possibility of a fine by Magistrate Damilola Sekoni.
As per Sekoni, “The defendant is sentenced to four years imprisonment each in counts one, two, three, five, and six, and the convict is sentenced to one year imprisonment in count four.”
But because of the concurrent execution of the sentences, Olatunde will spend four years behind bars.
