A 25-year-old Bala Hassan in Adamawa State has been sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly referring to policemen as thieves.
The Yola Criminal Area Court 2 on Tuesday handed the sentence to him after convicting him for the offence.
Bala Hassan was earlier brought before the court presided by Hon. Nuhu Garta by the State Commissioner of Police, Adamu Alhaji, for allegedly saying that all police officers attached to the Jimeta Police Division were thieves.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) tendered in court by Inspector Danjuma Hamidu, Bala had said he would rather die than join the Nigeria Police Force because policemen are criminals.
Court papers indicate that Bala was arrested in Yola on Monday during a crime prevention patrol led by Inspector Ishaya Buba of Jimeta Police Division and charged with being in possession of dry leaves suspected to be indian hemp.
The Police said he was unable to give satisfactory account of himself and that when brought to the Divisional headquarters for further investigation, he rained curses on the police, saying all of them are nothing but thieves.
In court on Tuesday, Bala admitted dubbing policemen thieves, following which the prosecutor, Inspector Danjuma Hamidu, applied for summary trial of the defendant.
Ruling, Hon Nuhu Musa Garta sentenced Bala to two years in prison but gave him an option of a N50, 000 fine.
