A Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court in Abuja, on Friday, sentenced a 29-year-old businessman, Awwal Shaibu, to six months’ imprisonment for defrauding his friend of N860,000.

The convict, who resides in Karu, Abuja, had pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of criminal breach of trust, theft and criminal misappropriation.

The Senior Magistrate, Haruna Haruna, however, gave him an option of a N60,000 fine and warned him to desist from committing crime.

Haruna also ordered the convict to pay N860,000 in compensation to the complainant.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Olarewaju Osho, told the court that the complainant, Usman Adamu of Karu, reported the matter at the Karu Police Station on July 26.

According to him, the complainant, who is also the victim, alleged that sometime in 2024, he pleaded with the convict to assist him in opening an Opay account.

He added that in the course of using the account, the complainant discovered that the convict had dishonestly withdrawn N860,000 from it without his consent.

He said that during police investigation, the convict confessed to the crime.

The offence, he added, contravened Sections 288, 309 and 312 of the Penal Code.

(NAN)