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Two men, Samuel Oyeniyi, 30, and Friday Utu, 27, were yesterday at an Ikeja High Court in Lagos sentenced to 14 years imprisonment each for attempted armed robbery.


The duo were arrested for attempting to rob unsuspecting commuters in a commercial bus, a crime popularly known as ‘one chance’ in Lagos. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), their defence counsel, Miss G.N. Udoanya, in her allocutus, pleaded with the Judge to temper justice with mercy.


"I humbly appeal to the court to temper justice with mercy and be lenient in sentencing the defendants. "The defendants are young men in their prime. They have no previous criminal records and as young men, they still have a lot to contribute to society.


"They have young children, as well as aged parents and the aged father of Oyeniyi, who always attended the court proceedings, particularly depends on his son for his livelihood," she said.


The prosecution, led by Mrs. O. Akinsete, a Senior State Counsel, asked for a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to other perpetrators of ‘one chance’ crimes.


"We urge the court to do substantive justice in this case, having convicted them in this matter and mete out a sentence that will deter other perpetuators of this kind of crime," she said.


Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye sentenced them after being found guilty of a three-count charge, boarding on conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.


"I have listened to the passionate allocutus of the defence counsel. I believe that they have learnt a lesson from their time in incarceration and I have taken notice of the fact that the defendants are young men in their prime.