A Magistrate Court sitting in Abakaliki has reportedly ordered Mr Ikenna Ogbonna Ota of Azuoto Okpuitumo, Okpuitumo Community in Abakaliki Local Government Area, Ebonyi State to pay the sum of One Hundred thousand Naira to Mr Thomas Agbo as damages for stealing the latter’s female cow.

Recall that the defendant was arrested and charged to Court on December 2022 after the plaintiff had searched and saw his cow at Ebiya Unuhu Community where Mr Ota had taken the animal to be used for his Late father’s in-law funeral rite.

Delivering the judgment, Magistrate Ngozi held that the defendant was guilty of the crime as there was no clear evidence to substantiate his claim that he bought the cow from someone else and as a result ordered Mr Ikenna Ogbonna Ota to pay #100,000 as fine and ordered him to commence the payment from the month of March to July, 2023.

According to the Magistrate, the defendant is to be paying 20,000 naira monthly to the Clark of the Court while the two parties would still come back to the Court on 31st of March, 2023.

The Cousel to the defendant Barr. Jude Onuoha who expressed dissatisfaction over the ruling, prayed the Court that the defendant should be paying 10,000 only every month based on the current economic hardship experiencing in the country.

He revealed that the defendant lacks helpers coupled with the fact many people are under his care including his wife who would soon put to bed.