CaseLaw
Ayeni V. The State (2016) CLR 3 (e) (SC)
Judgement delivered on March,8th 2016
Brief
Facts
The Appellant herein was the manager of the Egbe-Oba Co-operative Union. In 1997, one of the customers of the union-The Co-operative Cocoa Product, Akure, ordered and paid the sum of N 180,000.00 (One Hundred And Eighty Thousand Naira Only) in cheque for 10 metric tons of cocoa. The sum was cashed and the money distributed among some of the secretaries who used it to purchase ten (10) tones of cocoa.
Consequently, the cocoa was graded and the appellant herein was asked to deliver same to the co-operative Akure who paid for it.
However, the Appellant herein did not deliver the cocoa to the Co-operative Akure as directed. Rather, the appellant herein sold the cocoa to Black Arrow Ventures and disappeared with the proceed until his sureties were apprehended after which he surfaced.
On 14th of February, 2005, the appellant herein was arraigned before the Ekiti State High Court in Ikole Ekiti and pleaded not guilty to the amended charge.
At the end of trial, the appellant herein was found guilty of stealing and sentenced to three years imprisonment without an option of fine.
At the end of trial, the appellant herein was found guilty of stealing and sentenced to three years imprisonment without an option of fine.
Aggrieved, the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed the appeal.
Further dissatisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, he appealed to the Supreme Court.
Issues
Whether the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal were right in affirming the...