A 45-year-old native doctor, Michael Oyewole, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for the unlawful killing of his neighbour’s cow.
Oyewole, a resident of the Araromi Alakaloko Olomore area in Abeokuta, Ogun State, had pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge of conspiracy, theft, and wilful killing of a cow.
However, Magistrate O.O. Odumosu ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Oyewole was guilty of the offence.
The court sentenced Oyewole to 12 calendar months imprisonment with the option of a N10,000 fine for stealing and an additional six months for the wilful and unlawful killing of the cow.
The magistrate stipulated that Oyewole could only exercise the option of paying the fine if he compensates the complainant, Mr. Hakeem Ominrinde, with N400,000 being the cost of the cow he killed. The sentences are to run concurrently.
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The prosecution counsel, ASP Olakunle Shonibare, informed the court that Oyewole committed the offence on June 3, around 11 p.m., at the Alakoloko Unique Estate Olomore area in Abeokuta.
Shonibare stated that Oyewole conspired with others, now at large, and stole a cow valued at N400,000, the property of Mr. Ominrinde. The offence contravenes sections 516, 383, and 450 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun 2006.