Nigeria, June 26 -- A 36-year-old furniture craftsman, Mustapha Kabiru, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison by a Kaduna Magistrates' Court for stealing a motorcycle valued at N850,000.

The presiding magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, handed down the sentence on Thursday after Kabiru admitted to committing the offence.

While delivering judgment, Emmanuel gave Kabiru the option of paying a fine of N25,000 in lieu of serving the full prison term. He further cautioned the convict to turn a new leaf and avoid any future entanglement with crime.

In addition to the sentence, the court also directed Kabiru to compensate the complainant with the sum of N40,000.

The offence was prosecuted under Section 217 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law of...