A married house maid, Mrs. Comfort Jacob, has been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for allegedly conspiring with her husband, Isaac, to steal her employer’s $12,000 Dollars, equivalent of about N20m and cash of N500,000 in Lagos State.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that while Mrs. Comfort and her husband, Isaac, bagged one year jail term for conspiracy respectively, the Court also sentenced Mrs. Comfort for another four years for stealing under the Criminal Laws of the State.
That was the judgment of the Ikeja Special Offences Court, which found the couple guilty and sentenced them accordingly.
The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, also sentenced the couple for four years and one year respectively, following their plea bargain agreement to the amended two-count charge of stealing and conspiracy.
Justice Oshodi, while delivering judgment, noted that the offence which Comfort committed represented a profound breach of trust as she was employed as a house help, a position that requires the utmost integrity and honesty.
“Instead, you exploited your privileged access to your employer’s home to steal substantial sums of money. Such offences are regrettably prevalent in our society, where domestic workers abuse the confidence reposed in them by their employers.”
“The impact of your actions extends beyond the financial loss and you have violated the sacred trust between employer and employee, potentially making other honest job seekers suffer suspicion and scrutiny due to your offence.”
“Your actions undermine the very foundation of domestic employment relationships.”
The judge thereafter sentenced her to one year imprisonment on the count of conspiracy and three years on the charge of stealing.
Justice Oshodi however, said that the sentencing should run concurrently and the sentencing should begin from April 13, 2022, the day of her remand.
The Court further ordered that all items recovered from the convicts during the investigation be applied as restitution to the complainant, Mrs. Omolara Dakore.
The convicts were initially arraigned on a six-count information comprising conspiracy, breaking and entering a dwelling house, and stealing on 10th May, 2023.
They had pleaded not guilty hence the trial.
The Police Counsel, Mr. Joseph Eboseremen, had called an Investigation Police Officer (IPO), ASP Patrick Anthony, who testified as a prosecution witness one.
The prosecution, bearing the burden of proof under section 135(1) of the Evidence Act 2011, called one witness and tendered three documentary exhibits.
The Court having been satisfied by the evidence before it, sentenced the couple accordingly bearing in mind the plea bargain.