Court discharges man charged with N 118, 000 theft

A Grade I Area Court sitting in Kabusa, Abuja, on Thursday discharged a 24-year-old man, Moses Zakariah, charged with stealing the sum of N 118,000.

The Judge, Abubakar Sadiq, discharged Zakariah following an oral application by the prosecuting counsel, Stanley Nwafoaku, praying the court to discharge the case for lack of the complainant’s interest.

“Having heard the prosecution’s application to discharge the case for lack of complainant’s interest in the matter, the case is hereby struck out,” the Judge said.

The prosecutor said the complainant had refused to come to court to give evidence in the matter.

The Judge said that the First Information Report (FIR) had also been struck out and the defendant discharged.

“The defendant is also discharged of all criminal charges,” the court declared.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecutor informed the court that the complainant refused to come to court to give evidence in the matter.

Nwafoaku said that the court was not a dumping ground for defendants and that all efforts made to bring the complainant to court proved abortive.

Earlier, the prosecutor told the court that the defendant broke into the shop of John Simon, of opposite Tulsi Hospital, Abuja and stole the sum of N 118,000.

The prosecuting counsel said that during police investigation, the defendant confessed committing the crime that contravened sections 347 and 287 of the Penal Code.

Zakariah, who was charged with house breaking and theft, however, denied the allegation.