A woman who accused the Mountain of Fire & Miracles Ministries Church of holding her son has been convicted of defaming the church as she claimed that her son had gone missing after she dropped him off at the worship centre, NAN reports.
The prosecutor, Zannan Dalhatu, told the court that Loveth Matidon had reported at the Utako Police Station Abuja on February 27 that her son was missing.
Dalhatu said Matidon, on that same date, reported that she dropped her three-year-old son at the MFM, Abuja, but could not locate him when she returned.
He said it was revealed during police investigation that Matidon had actually kept her son somewhere, then went further to the church and falsely claimed that her son was missing. She then proceeded to the Police station to report the false abduction of her son by the church.
The prosecutor said the offenses contravened sections 178 and 288 of the Penal Code.
Consequently, the Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Friday ordered that Matidon be given four strokes of the cane for giving false information.
Matidon, who resides at Wuye, Abuja, had pleaded guilty to two counts of giving false information and defamation leveled against her.
The judge, Abubakar Sadiq, gave the order after the convict pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.
According to the judge, it is a big criminal offense for the woman to have woken up one day and just decided to defame an organization.
In his words:
‘Your sentence would have been more grievous if not for the fact that you pleaded guilty and asked for leniency. You cant just wake up and then decide in your mind that you want to defame an organization without considering the consequences. If you are brought before this court another time, the court will not be lenient with you’
NAN