Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced five oil thieves to different jail terms.

A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, said the convicts, Salisu Abubakar, Aliyu Umar, Mohammed Yahaya, Musa Mohammed and Abbas Melle, were convicted and sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of dealing in petroleum products without the appropriate licence.

Abubakar, Umar, Yahaya and Mohammed were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each, while Melle was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

The statement read in part, “Abubakar, Umar and Yahaya were jailed based on Section 1 (1) (a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria), 2007; Mohammed and Melle were convicted based on Section 1 (18) (a) (i) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17 of the Revised Edition, (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007.

“Justice Obile jailed Abubakar, Mohammed and Melle on Monday, June 28, 2021, while Umar and Yahaya were jailed on Thursday, June 24, 2021.”

The convicts, however, got various options of fine.

Abubakar and Melle got an option of fine of N500,000 each, while Umar, Yahaya and Mohammed had an option of fine of N300,000 each. ,,