A person in possession of a stolen item is presumed to be the thief

A lady took to Twitter to narrate how she was arrested and detained by the police for purchasing airtime from a roadside vendor whom the police said to have stolen the airtime. She stated that she genuinely had no idea that the vendor stole the airtime since the vendor is a regular they always purchase airtime from.

She does not know what her fate could be the reason why she’s crying out on Twitter for help. 

The fact is according to Nigerian law if you buy or are found to be in possession of a stolen item you will be prosecuted for a felony or misdemeanor. This is the provision of S 427 of the criminal code act which was captioned “Receiving property stolen or fraudulently obtained and like offenses” and it provides thus: 

Any person who receives anything which has been obtained by means of any act constituting a felony or misdemeanor, or by means of any act done at a place, not in Nigeria, which if it had been done in Nigeria would have constituted a felony or misdemeanor, and which is an offense under the laws in force in the place where it was done, knowing the same to have been so obtained, is guilty of a felony.

If the offense by means of which the thing was obtained is a felony, the offender is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years, except in the case in which the thing so obtained was postal matter, or any chattel, money, or valuable security contained therein, in which case the offender is liable to imprisonment for life.

In any other case, the offender is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

For the purpose of proving the receiving of anything, it is sufficient to show that the accused person has, either alone or jointly with some other person, had the thing in his possession, or has aided in concealing it or disposing of it.

By this provision, by the reason of you being in possession of the stolen property, it is presumed that you are the thief or you have the knowledge that the item was stolen. For you not to be prosecuted, it must be ascertained after investigations that you do not know that the item you purchased or in your possession was stolen. 

The fate of the lady who purchased stolen airtime hereby, is after investigation and it is clear that he has no knowledge that the item was stolen then she will be off the hook and won’t be prosecuted. 

This is a modest call to all and sundry to take extra precaution and go the extra mile in verifying items purchased, especially when the item is unnecessarily cheap; cheaper than the market value, or an item sold in a place where it ought not to be sold because even if you have no idea that the item you purchased was stolen, the item will still be retrieved from you and given back to the original owner of the item. If you buy stolen goods, the general rule is that you are not the legal owner even if you paid a fair price and didn’t know that the goods were stolen. The person who originally owned them is still the legal owner.

Finally, as a general rule in law, a person is presumed to be the thief for being in possession of the stolen property. A person found to be in possession of the stolen property may also be charged with the offense of receiving stolen property unless it is ascertained that the person had no knowledge that the item was stolen but that does not mean that the item won’t be retrieved and given back to the original (legal) owner.