I framed him because he owes me N500, man confesses in court

An Abuja resident, Ibrahim Usman, on Wednesday told a Gudu Upper Area Court in the FCT that he lied against Bala Hamza because he owed him N500.
Hamza, 31, a fairly-used clothes dealer in Area 1 Shopping Complex, Garki, Abuja, was arraigned on a one-count charge of receiving stolen goods, which contravened Section 317 of the Penal Code.
Usman said he told the lie against Hamza because the defendant had not paid him N500 owed him for the laundry services he did for him.
He also said that he lied to save himself from being lynched by the angry mob of Lagos Street, Garki, when it was discovered that he had stolen a phone.
The Prosecutor, Urom Otu, told the court that Ibrahim Nasiru of Police Cantonment reported the matter at the Area 11, Garki Police Station on April 1.
Otu said the defendant was brought to the police station by some angry mob in connection with a stolen phone valued N47,000, which was recovered from Ibrahim Usman, who claimed he stole it from Promise Amiekan.
He said Usman claimed that he sold the stolen phone to the defendant for N2,000.
The presiding officer, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, discharged the defendant when he confirmed that the charges against him were false and fabricated by Usman.
Kagarko then warned Usman to desist from malicious acts of implicating innocent persons and falsely accusing people to save himself or for mischief.
He also advised him to disengage from criminal activities and imbibe honesty, and above all be God fearing.