IBADAN, Nigeria – An Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday, March 17, 2025, sentenced 39-year-old Ezekiel Onikoyi to two weeks’ imprisonment for stealing a woman’s handbag containing a phone, power bank, and N4,000.
The convict, whose address was not provided, pleaded guilty to charges of stealing, obtaining money under false pretences, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
Magistrate Gladys Oladele, who presided over the case, found Onikoyi guilty as charged and ordered him to serve two weeks at the Agodi Correctional Centre, Ibadan.
However, she offered him the alternative of one month of community service.
The magistrate also ruled that the power bank, one of the items stolen from the complainant, Mrs. Balikis Adeoti, be returned to her.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Samuel Owolabi, informed the court that the defendant committed the offences on 14 March at 11:30 p.m. near the old Toll Gate on the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway.
Owolabi explained that Onikoyi disguised himself as a prophet and defrauded Adeoti, who was returning home from work.
According to the prosecutor, the convict intercepted Adeoti and claimed to have a divine revelation for her.
He instructed her to drop her bag, walk a short distance to a junction, and leave a N100 note at the spot as part of a prayer ritual to solve her problems.
Adeoti complied with the instructions, but upon returning, she discovered that the fake prophet and her bag had disappeared.
The bag contained a phone and power bank worth N220,000, as well as N4,000 in cash.
Owolabi stated that while the power bank was recovered from the convict, the phone remains missing.
The prosecutor noted that the offences contravened Sections 390 (9), 419, and 249 (d) of the Criminal Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
