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. 

An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) company with competency in cutting-edge software solutions in the private and public sectors, Vatebra Limited, has graciously launched its inaugural internship cum mentorship programme for young Nigerians towards achieving efficiency.

The theme of the outing was ‘Vatebra Internship and Mentorship Programme #VIM202’ and unveiled at the Vatebra Tech Hub situated in Lagos State, Nigeria. The firm’s leadership disclosed that the initiative was to develop young and enthusiastic individuals within the shores of the Nigerian State into a unique learning and growth system consistent with its mission statement.

The programme, which began in April with its first set of interns and mentees, comes at a time when the technology ecosystem seeks urgent solutions, people and capabilities to make things better.

The tech firm noted that while useful and ingenious technology professionals “are increasingly becoming scarce as the industry generally witnesses brain drain, it becomes paramount that up-skilling and apprenticeship would go a long way to start building the technology professionals of the future” across the country.

The Programme Director of Vatebra Limited, in the person of Mosunmola Adewale-Akobada, stated “The VIM programme functions much like apprenticeship, providing hands-on technical training and capstone projects, as well as mentorship. As with the organization, the programme is both physical and virtual. It is scheduled to last for 10 months”.

On his part, the firm’s Head of African Markets, Matthew Omoaka informed, “This internship gives participants the rare opportunity to acquire skills and experience through short-term work, rather than a more traditional training approach. 

“It gives people a chance to develop some cool experience in a short amount of time and very specific and marketable information to put on a resume” as they strive towards excellence.

He added, “Conferring to the programme plan, the interns and mentees require up to 40 hours of work every week for a minimum of 10 months. Working hours are coordinated with the company supervisor. 

“The interns and mentees must demonstrate high-level performance and would be evaluated monthly. At the middle and end of the programme, the interns and mentees would make presentations and reports that would be used as a basis to judge their participation and achievements.”

Also speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Managing Director of the tech firm, Mike Aigbe, charged the interns that “the programme is an opportunity, which has been provided at no cost to them and for those who wouldn’t necessarily have had it.

“It will also help the beneficiaries in their career path, not only by getting the experience but as a concept of being able to balance that with the right exposure.”

In any field of human endeavour, the essence and inevitable role of mentorship and internship cannot be overemphasized. This is the reason anyone who lacks such a pattern of upbringing in their area of speciality must live to stagger as they proceed in the career.

Mentorship and internship have been proven beyond doubts to possess the required technicality towards boosting any career base. This is why it is needed right from home and preliminary schools, the moment it is being discovered the area the kid intends to channel his or her energy as they pursue their prospective career.

In view of this, the authorities of the various schools domiciled in Nigeria, starting from the primary to the tertiary, must endeavour to create a mechanism that would inculcate the required mentorship into their wards, in addition to the educational trainings given them on a daily basis. The parents and guardians must equally be of help to ensure this is actualized.

For those who have already graduated from tertiary institutions, they shouldn’t be in a hurry to make money as it’s found in our today’s society; rather, ought to focus on how best to develop their skills or what they had learnt in the school by ensuring they pass through holistic internship programmes, whereby they would trained by the experts in the fields.

This approach would make them become very marketable when they eventually entered the labour market.