A Karu Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Thursday sentenced a 19-year-old tricycle operator, Ibrahim Suleiman, to 10 months imprisonment for causing grievous hurt.
The judge, Malam Sani Mohammed, said that his judgment was based on the evidence before the court and the guilty plea of the convict.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge, however, gave Suleiman an option of N15, 000 fine.
The convict, a commercial tricycle operator, was docked on charges bordering on assault, obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and inciting public disturbance.
Suleiman admitted to the crimes and pleaded for mercy.
The prosecutor, Ayotunde Adeyanju, had told the court that one Salisu Aliyu, a revenue officer attached to Abuja Municipal Area Council, reported the matter at the Karu Police Station on Jan. 23.
“The complainant while discharging his official duty of selling and checking daily tickets from tricycle operator at CBN Junction, Karu, came to the defendant and requested to see his ticket for the day.
“In the process, another team of the Abuja Municipal Area Council took the defendant’s tricycle to their office because he could not present his ticket.
“After some minutes, the defendant came back with sharp knife, wood and physically attacked the complainant and in the process inflicted serious injury on one Rita Anya, who came to settle the dispute.
“However, in the course of attacking the complainant, the defendant’s actions caused panic and chaos to other innocent members of the public,” Adeyanju said.
The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 267, 397, 95, 114 and 148 of the Penal Code.(NAN)