Ibadan, Feb. 13, 2026 (NAN)A Grade A Customary Court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan, has sentenced a waiter, Babatunde Adeyemo, to two weeks of community service for stealing N99,100 in lodging proceeds belonging to his employer.
Delivering judgment, the court’s President, Mrs O. E. Owoseni, convicted and sentenced Adeyemo based on the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution.
Owoseni added that she reduced the convict’s sentence due to his show of remorse, the refund of the stolen sum, and his promise to desist from committing any crime in the future.
“However, to serve as a deterrent to others, Adeyemo shall serve two weeks of community service for each of the two offences of unlawful conversion and stealing.
“Sentencing shall run concurrently,” she said.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp Ayodele Ayeni had told the court that the convict committed the crime on June 1, 2024, at the premises of Hotel 56, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Shedding more light on the matter, Ayeni said that Adeyemo began stealing his employer’s money on the first day he started work by refusing to remit the proceeds paid by lodgers in the hotel into the official account.
The complainant, Mr Saheed Adeyemo, who is also the employer, testified that the hotel’s policy required all lodging proceeds to be paid directly into the hotel’s account through the POS terminal located on the premises.
He noted that the convict was caught directing customers to pay into his personal account and had already received various sums totaling N99,100 from four customers on June 1, 2, and 3, 2024.
He added that the convict even reduced the cost of lodging for some customers to attract them before he was eventually caught.
He further stated that the police at the Mokola Police Division recovered the stolen sum from him.
In his testimony, the convict said he directed customers to pay into his account because the hotel’s POS terminal was experiencing network issues.
He claimed he tried to call his employer to inform him, but the phone was unreachable.
According to the prosecutor, the offences contravene the provision of sections 390 and 383 of the criminal code cap 38 vol. ii law of Oyo State 2000. (NAN)
