28-yr-Old Man Gets 21 Years Jail Term Over Robbery.

A 28-year old man, Eberechi Mbachi, has been sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for robbery offence.
Mbachi was convicted by an Ikot Ekpene High Court, Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, and was presided over by Justice Ntong Ntong.
The accused, who stood trial on charge No. HT/8c/2015, was convicted on a one-count proffered against him by the Akwa Ibom State Government.
He was alleged to have carried out the robbery with others now at large on April 12, 2014, at Kemson Filling Station located at No. 113, Umuahia Road, Ikot Ekpene.
The accused and others at large, were said to have on the fateful day, broken into Kemson Filling Station belonging to one Mr Aniekan Ekanem, stole cash, stabiliser and other items.
The accused alongside others were said to have succeeded in their operation after tying the security guard and locking him in a generator room.
It was gathered that the armed robbers thereafter attempted to escape with their loot in a VW Golf car.
Nemesis, however, was said to have caught up with Mbachi when he was arrested by the vigilance group within the vicinity of the filling station, while the other suspects abandoned the car and fled.
It was learnt that Mbachi was later arraigned on a one-court of robbery.
The presiding judge in a judgment which lasted for about two hours had meticulously scrutinised the different and contradicting statements of Mbachi at both Ikot Ekpene Police Station and the State Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia in addition to his evidence in court before convicting him.
The court in the course of the trial was not convinced that the charge of armed robbery was appropriate in the circumstance since the accused person was not armed at the time of his arrest, and the state had failed to render any weapon, during the trial to support the charge of armed robbery under Section 1 (1) of the Robbery and Fire Arms (Special Provisions) Act Cap R 11, LFN 2004.
The Section provides that, “Any person who commits the offence of robbery shall upon trial and conviction under this Act, be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 21 years.
Ntong found the accused guilty of committing the crime of robbery on April 12, 2014 and sentenced him accordingly.
He criticised the accused person for not engaging himself in good venture rather than crime, insisting that the sentence will serve as a deterrent to others who take to crime.