I Know My Sheep and My Sheep Know Me: Pastor Bags 9 Months in Jail for Stealing a Sheep

According to the bible passage, (John 10:3-5), it says that “…and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out… And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice… And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”

Could this possibly be an explanation to the story about a cleric, one pastor Oloruntoba Ibitoye, who, on Monday bagged a nine-month jail term after pleading guilty to a crime of stealing a sheep valued at N3,000 in front of the owner’s residence at Amoyo area of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Ibitoye had been charged before the Ilorin Magisterate’s Court, and according to the prosecution, the complainant, one Mrs Florence Adebiyi, reported at the police station in Ganmo, near Ilorin, that the convict stole her sheep valued at N3,000 in front of her Amoyo residence.

The prosecution said the sheep was recovered from Ibitoye by the police. Ibitoye pleaded guilty to the offence and begged for leniency. However, police prosecutor, Inspector Mojisola Olamokun, applied for summary trial, which was granted by the court. The Magistrate, Mrs. Mariam Qudus-Salahu, sentenced him to nine months imprisonment without an option of fine.