Judging Matters Episode Ten: Stolen Goods and Black Magic

A typical episode of ‘Judging Matters’ promises as much laughter, entertainment, and learnings from the cases brought to the courtroom. But in this episode, we see a touch of mystery and the supernatural. Justice Olushola Williams and general counsel, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu have to work together to decipher what’s true and what’s false.

Case One

Obinna Okonkwo owns a betting shop with two cashiers who work with him. He gives the cashiers funds daily to run the business and they are expected to return it, including the money they made or spent.

The problem began on August 28, 2019, when Chinomso Udoji, one of his cashiers, returned only N1,500 instead of N120,000. Chinomso claimed that the sum of N118,000 had been stolen through black magic. But the other cashier and a customer stated that he had been making exclamation sounds while he was working as though he was betting, and he could see transactions being made.

Chinomso agreed that he received his daily funds from Obinna on the said day and that another customer had given him some money. He also conceded that he had reneged on his agreed payment plan for the stolen money. Obinna had decided to allow him to work off his debt, but after one month where he paid N26,000, he ran away.

The Judge and Ebuka decided that his story was not plausible and ruled in favour of the claimant. Chinomso was ordered to pay Obinna the sum of N92,500 immediately.

Case Two

The claimant, Chika gave his dry cleaner, Wisdom some clothes to wash and then left them at his shop for a few months. They had a relationship beforehand that allowed him to feel comfortable about leaving his clothes there.

He later heard from someone else that Wisdom had sold his clothes and he was furious. He reached out to the dry cleaner to ask about his clothes and Wisdom told him that he didn’t have it anymore because they were stolen.

Chika, however, does not believe that his clothes were stolen. He is of the opinion that his dry cleaner sold them. Wisdom stated that he went out one day from his shop and when he returned, he realized that it has been burgled. Justice Olushola then asked him if he reported the burglary to the Police and he said that he didn’t do that. Ebuka also asked him why he didn’t call his customers to tell them that he had been robbed, he claimed he was angry and sad

Justice Olushola said that it was difficult for the court to ascertain the exact value of the clothes that the dry cleaner had lost. After a short discussion with Ebuka, she set the settlement at a fair price of N80,000, in favour of the claimant.

Both cases teach us to be honest and communicative when we have transactions with other people. We also learn that we’re expected to report cases of theft to the police as soon as they occur.

Want to learn more life lessons? Then don’t miss the next episode of Judging Matters Mondays on Africa Magic Showcase channel 151 at 6:00 PM and catch the repeat episode on the same channel on Wednesday at 10:00 PM. Stay tuned to Africa Magic for the finest entertainment the continent has to offer and if you aren’t already watching, make sure you get your DStv subscription asap!

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