Chief Magistrate P.E. Nwaka of a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ court has remanded a seven-man gang of armed robbers in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), Kirikiri, Lagos for allegedly stealing electricity cables valued at N80 million.
The suspects are Blessing Onyema, Sunday Alabogu, Sylvester Nwajagu, Celestine Nnailo, Obinna, Onyedika Vincent and Odo Vincent Chinedu.
Chief Magistrate Nwaka ordered that the suspect would remain in custody of the centre pending perfection of their bail conditions.
The suspects were arraigned by the Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit robbery, and armed robbery contrary to Sections 299, and 297(2) of the Criminal Law, Ch C.17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Chief Magistrate Nwaka did not take the plea of first, second and third defendants because the court lacks jurisdiction over the matter.
Chief Magistrate Nwaka, while reviewing the case file, noted that the only nexus of the 1st defendant to the charge was that monies were received in her Zenith Bank account which were proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Nwaka, however, ordered that the second and third defendants were to be remanded in prison facility for the first 30 days pending the duplication of the case file at the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution for advice.
On their bail applications, the trial Chief Magistrate admitted the 1st defendant to bail in the sum of N200,000 with three sureties in like sum.
The court also granted the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants bail in the sum of N500,000 each with three sureties in like sum and who must possess three years tax clearance
Though the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh were admitted to bail, the Chief Magistrate ordered that they were all to report on second and fourth Mondays of every month at Zone 2 Onikan, Lagos.
The arraignment of the defendants followed the advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) which established a prima facie case against the defendants while some of the suspects were absolved of the crime.
The prosecuting counsel, Williams Ologun, told the court that the suspects unlawfully conspired among themselves to commit telony to wit robbery and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 299 and punishable under Section 297 (2) (a) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.
Ologun informed the court that the suspects armed with guns allegedly stole 16 drums of Starlight, 96 Core Optic Fibre Cables valued N80 million, property of Jus Partners Cosmopolitan Limited, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 296 and punishable under Section 297(1)(2}(a)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.
While Onyeama, Alabogu and Nwajagu were accused of receiving stolen property contrary to Section 328 of the Criminal Law, Nnailo Celestine, Obinna Onu and Felix Onyema were accused of “transfer of criminal proceeds to Nominee contrary to Section 333 of the Criminal Law.”
The DPP advice, reference number CB 3514/ZN 2/X/LEGAL/Z2MU/VOL01/182 dated August 19, this year, signed by the Director of the department, Dr. Jide Martins, had advised that nine others, including Emmanuel Bassey, Innocent Akabueze, Ejimofor Chukwuma, Odo Chinedu, Onyedika Vincent, Nwajagu David, Ogunrinde Femi, Akintunde Saheed and Utaegbulem Jerry, be released from police custody as no prima facie case has been established against them.
The DPP further advised the police to intensity effort in ensuring that a suspect nicknamed ‘Jungle’ and others involved in the robbery were apprehended, and prosecuted.
A lawyer, O.O. Ogunleye appeared for the complainant as counsel holding watching brief.