The Nation Newspaper

Tag: theft

  • Housewife in court over alleged theft of pigs

    Housewife in court over alleged theft of pigs

    A housewife, Mrs Kemi Joshua, 30, was on Wednesday brought before an Akure Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly receiving two stolen pigs valued at N100,000.

    The Police prosecutor, Sgt. Adeoye Adesegun, told the court that the accused conspired with her husband, Joshua, who is still at large, to commit the offences.

    “Kemi unlawfully received two female pigs valued at N100, 000, property of one Omokaro Ilesanmi, which she knew to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained,’’  Adesegun said.

    The prosecutor alleged that the accused person committed the offences on May 21, 2017 at about 12:30 a.m. at Odopo Quarters, Ijoka, Akure.

    According to him, the offences are contrary to and punishable under Sections 516 and 247 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol.1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.

    However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful acceptance.

    The counsel to the accused person, Mr Orlu-Orlu Mills, prayed the court to grant his client bail in the most liberal terms.

    He assured the court that the accused was ready to provide the court with a reliable surety who would ensure her appearance in court.

    In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Charles Iringekoko, granted Kemi bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two reliable and substantial sureties in like sum.

    The magistrate said the sureties must provide evidence of tax payment for the current year, obtained from the State Internal Revenue Department and two passport-sized photographs of the sureties and the accused person.

    She said the accused person and the two sureties must provide the court with their official and residential addresses, which would be verified by the court.

    The case was adjourned till June 28, for definite trial.

     

  • Nursing mother charged with theft

    Nursing mother charged with theft

    The police have charged the mother of a six-month-old baby, Victoria Kola, with the theft of ladies’ accessories worth N246,550 from a supermarket.
    Kola, 30, a resident of Lekki, was arraigned on a one-count charge of stealing before Mrs A.A. Adetunji of an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
    Prosecuting Sergeant Friday Mameh alleged that the defendant committed the offence around 9:45am on May 13, at Prince Ebeano Supermarket along Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1.
    Mameh listed the allegedly stolen items as: face powder, three sleek lipsticks, 10 sets of earrings, one Frank Bee eye lashes and one beauty eye treatment.
    Other are: four bangles; three hobnobs biscuits, one make-up bag and 14 Italian hair packs, all valued at N246,550, belonging to Prince Ebeano.
    According to Mameh, the defendant was identified and caught through footage from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed within the supermarket.
    The offence, the prosecutor added, contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
    Kola pleaded not guilty.
    Magistrate Adetunji granted her N100,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, who must show evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government
    She adjourned till May 31.

  • Man charged for N25,000 mosquito net theft

    Man charged for N25,000 mosquito net theft

    A 22-year-old man, Quadri Lawal, who allegedly broke into a
    woman’s apartment and stole mosquito nets worth N25,000, was on Friday brought before a Badagry Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State.
    The accused is facing a charge of stealing.

    The prosecution told the court that the accused used a sharp object to cut the net on the window of the woman’s apartment before stealing the mosquito nets.

    Insp. Akpan Ikem said the offence was committed on April 28 at Prestige Estate, Churchgate at Morogbo near Badagry. He said the accused stole the mosquito nets property of the complainant, Miss Bola Obibi.
    “The accused went into the compound of the complainant passing through the gate that was left open and started cutting the net on the windows. “He was, however, caught by the landlord, who handled him over to the police,” Ikem said. The offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised) which stipulates three years imprisonment for offenders. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Jimoh Adefioye, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum.
    The case was adjourned until June 17 for mention.

  • Accountant bags 14 years for N3.1m theft

    An Ikeja High Court, Lagos yesterday sentenced a former Chief Accountant with Vanguard Media Limited, Yisa Bhadmus, to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy and stealing N3.1million.

    Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye yesterday found Bhadmus guilty of conspiracy and stealing brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The judge sentenced him to seven years each on three counts of conspiracy and stealing which will run concurrently.

    The convict was also sentenced to another seven years on a separate count of conspiracy, making a total of 14 years.

    Bhadmus and the Owerri, Imo State circulation officer of the company Samuel Ogbole, who is at large, were accused of stealing the money, property of Vanguard Media.

    He pleaded not guilty to the eight-count amended charge during his arraignment on October 21, 2013

    Justice Ipaye, however, found Bhadmus guilty of four counts of conspiracy to steal and stealing, but held that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt, the counts of conspiracy to forge bank documents and forgery.

    She held that the defendants stole the proceeds of sales of Vanguard Newspapers in Owerri from 2006-2008 through forged tellers numbering about 68, which were not remitted to the company’s bank account.

    The court also noted that the facts presented by the prosecution were not challenged by the defendant.

    It found as farfetched Bhadmus’ claim to the police that the money lodged in his account by Ogbole was the proceeds of the fish from his fish farm he (Ogbole) helped him to sell in Owerri.

    The judge held: “I have no doubt that the prosecution has proved the case of stealing beyond reasonable doubt. I have no doubts that Vanguard dispatched newspapers to Owerri, which proceeds supposed to be remitted to the company’s account, following which the out station manager needs to file weekly sales proceeds to the head office.

    “But this was not done; instead, he was sending money into the account of the accountant. The money paid to the personal account of the accountant represented the proceeds of newspapers sold in Owerri; I therefore resolve the issue of stealing in favour of the prosecution.

    “The statement of the defendant before the police showed it all. It is too farfetched to be believed. There is no fact to support his (Bhadmus) story that he sold fish. The testimony is unreliable. The money paid into the defendant’s account is the proceeds of the newspapers sold.

    “There was no evidence that services were rendered by the defendant to warrant the lodgment by Samuel Ogbole, the Owerri circulation manager into his bank account. All the lodgments, 68 in number, did not reflect in the company’s statement of account. The tellers sent to the head office and the signatures were forged.”

     

  • Lagos to criminalise power theft, vandalisation

    Lagos to criminalise power theft, vandalisation

    …Lights up 500km road network in one year

     

    The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said it has concluded plans to enact a law to specifically criminalise and punish severely persons who engage in power theft and vandalisation, expressing optimism that it would go a long way to tackle the menace headlong.

    Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olawale Oluwo, who said this at the ongoing Ministerial press briefing to commemorate the second year in office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, said the State Government was worried that its efforts to ensure streets of Lagos are well lit was being threatened by vandals.

    He said the Government had noticed a trend where some electricity infrastructures are damaged by hit and run motorists, saying that such was detrimental to the quest of the State to ensure that every nook and cranny of the State is lit.

    But he said the State Government was coming up with a law under its Embedded Power Initiative to protect public lighting infrastructures from such destruction and vandalisation.

    “We have noticed this vandalisation in three ways. The first one is that by weekends, between Friday and Sunday, we see a lot of vehicles knock down our electricity poles and we suffer the consequences.

    So, we make sure that each time we apprehend them we make them to pay fines because we cannot prosecute them under a law that is not existing, so the Embedded Power Programme would come with its own Power Theft Law and we would try to embed this street lighting protection under it, so until the law, we cannot prosecute them, we can only continue to fine them to pay for the street light poles they knock down,” Oluwo said.

    The Commissioner also restated the commitment of the State Government to meet its electricity needs and ensure regular power supply not only for industrial clusters, but also to residents of the State.

    He said that beyond powering its own public facilities with the already established independent power plants delivering a combined 47.5 MW, the state government intends to stimulate investment through this initiative with the generation of 3000MW of power through accelerated deployment of embedded or distributed power plants in strategic locations within three to five years to drive the economy and bring additional electricity to millions of homes and businesses.

    “The State Government is therefore in partnership with major international and local industry key players in the power sector to provide a platform for uninterrupted power supply to its citizenry. The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the private sector, is using the strength of its balance sheet to guarantee the deployment of off-grid modular plants of between 20MW to 100MW strategically spread within clusters close to reliable sustainable sources of electricity and power evacuation substation for the exclusive benefit of Lagos residents.

    “Solar energy project is another initiative by the Lagos State Government, focused on implementing power solutions for public facilities. This project aim at delivering a total of 4.59 MV of sustainable power to rural, riverine and public boarding secondary schools, 172 of them and 11 primary health centres located within the rural areas in Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki,” he said.

    He said in the year under review, the Government through its “Light up Lagos” Initiative, achieved 500km of streetlight installations in its bid to light up the nooks and crannies of the State, while over 100km length of street lighting installations are on-going at various locations.

    “In a bold step, the State Government has taken over and adopted the management of all street lights within Lagos irrespective of legacy ownership. In this instance, street lights hitherto controlled by Local Government, Ministry of Works and Infrastructures, LAMATA and those of Federal Agencies like FERMA and FAAN are now under the management of Lagos State Government. The essence is to ensure uniformity of standard, excellent service delivery and provision of a more holistic and sustainable approach to monitoring and maintaining of the installations.

    “It is gratifying to mention that in a bid to save cost, the Lagos State Government has been able to connect some of the street lights to the Alausa, Mainland, Island and Lekki Independent Power Plants; while efforts are on to connect others to the Independent Power Plants,” Oluwo said

     

  • Guard docked for stealing pipes

    Guard docked for stealing pipes

    A 30-year-old security guard, Edward Sunday was on Tuesday arraigned in a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court over alleged theft of 200 pieces of Acro-props pipes belonging to his employer.

    The accused is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and theft.

    He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Prosecutor, Insp. Philip Osijiale had earlier told the court that the accused on April 21 at about 5:30 p.m at Ikoya Avenue, Ikoyi Lagos conspired with one other person, now at large to steal the pipes.

    He said that the accused was a security guard employed by Alliance and General Estate Development Limited to guard some of their new sites.

    Osijiale alleged that Sunday stole 200 pieces of Acro props valued at one million naira from one of the sites and sold them for N67,000.

    Osijiale said that the offences contravened Sections 287(d) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 287 stipulates three years imprisonment, while section 411 stipulates two years imprisonment for offenders.

    The Magistrate, Mr Omolaja Kazeem, granted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum.

    He said that ‎the sureties must be gainfully employed, and show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government and their addresses should be verified.

    The case was adjourned till May 19 for hearing.

  • Student commits suicide over theft allegation

    Student commits suicide over theft allegation

    A University of Lagos (Unilag) student has reportedly committed suicide after being accused of stealing make-up and clothes belonging to a fellow student.

    Ayomide Ayibiri, a 100 level Employee Relations and Human Resources Management (ER & HRM) student, was said to have drunk an insecticide known as Sniper at her mother’s place at the weekend.

    It was gathered that her fellow students at Amina Hostel called her “thief” and other unpleasant names.

    Their action was said to have followed the alleged discovery of the missing items in her bag.

    Her mother, described as a worker in the university, on learning of the matter, was said to have defrayed N2,000 cost of the make-up.

    While following her mother home, her hostel mates were said to have booed her even more.

    It was gathered that her mother returned from work and met her in critical condition.

    According to Ajani Damilola, who shared the information on social media, the mother asked her what happened and she stretched her hand towards the insecticide.

    “Immediately, her mum gave her palm oil but it didn’t work. She rushed her to a medical centre at Ebute-Meta, still there wasn’t favourable result. She then took her to Lagos University Teaching Hospitals (LUTH). Ayo gave up in LUTH.”

    The news of her death enraged some staff and students who blamed her hostel mates for it.

    A lecturer, who spoke with The Nation in confidence, urged the management to arrest and prosecutes them.

    He said: “It’s a very sad incident. There’s even the possibility that she didn’t even steal the items. It could be that someone hid those things in her bag and they have pushed her to suicide.

    “Her mother should have reported the matter at the Student Affairs Unit. I just hope the management would arrest all those involved and prosecute them for jungle justice.

    “A proper investigation should also be carried out to ascertain what happened. If it’s discovered she didn’t steal, all those responsible should be rusticated from the institution.”

    Deboye Taylor, her childhood friend and classmate, wrote: “Ayomide, my heart melts in sorrow as I have to reflect on the fact that you are gone, but there’s nothing that can be done anymore. We are all going to keep praying for you and you will forever be in our hearts. Ariyibi – this is the name we all got used to, although it is your surname but we still called you back in our kindergarten, nursery and primary school days. Even when I met you at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), I still called you that. I’ll hold on to all those memories we shared with you.”

  • ‘Oil subsidy scammers nurturing vandalism, militancy, crude oil theft’

    The oil subsidy scammers, who benefitted immensely from fake importation of petroleum products are nurturing vandalism,  militancy, crude oil theft and the unwarranted disruptions in the sector, to the level being witnessed, especially in the Niger Delta.

    The disclosure was made yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by the Convener of the Second Edition of the Save Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry (SNOAGI) Roundtable, Dr. Brown Ogbeifun.

    The roundtable was organised by the African Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership (AFRITAL).

    Project SNOAGI was launched last year, as a veritable platform for bringing stakeholders together to interact, brainstorm and make prescriptions on how to improve the efficiency of the oil and gas operations, thereby assisting government in bringing sanity to the sector.

    Ogbeifun said: “Most of the motherless US Dollars,  British Pounds, Euro and Naira found in wardrobes, farms and soak-away pits are definitely primary or secondary products of mismanaged oil funds, which might explain why the oil industry has witnessed gross underdevelopment.

    “The revelations emanating from the Malabu oil deal, the brazen cash withdrawals from oil money accounts to pursue non-value addition to the good of our hydrocarbon development are indeed very sad.

    “There is no doubt that there has been lack of investors’ confidence in the oil industry, as policies and laws that would have protected their investments are not seriously addressed.

    “The issues of over regulation through multiple regulatory agencies, multiple taxation, global and local oil politics have made it an intractable possibility for Nigeria to reach it’s optimum productivity.”

    The convener also stated that Nigeria was ripe enough to be self sufficient in producing all the necessary derivatives from crude oil.

    Ogbeifun noted that compounding the parlous state of the oil and gas sector came the sabotaging of the pipelines by the militants, which he insisted almost crippled operations in the sector.

    He said: “Paradoxically, we export our crude oil and create refining capacities for other economies, at the detriment of the Nigerian state. Why must we continue to export our mineral resources in exchange for finished products in the oil and gas industry?

    “Our leaders have consistently displayed lack of political will to drive the transformation imperatives to a logical conclusion. That is why we are still talking of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), 17 years after it started its journey.

    “No country treats its critical reforms the way we do. Not passing the PIB has led to losses in trillions of naira, loss of investment opportunities, inability to realise our optimum capacity utilisation and the inability to end gas flaring, which was to have ended in 2008.

    “The PIB might not be a perfect document, just as it is all over the world. All we need is an enduring dialogue process and the will of steel by government to drive the process to its logical conclusion. No matter the drawbacks, the PIB contains many sections that would have greatly enhanced the hydrocarbon potential of Nigeria.”

    The convener also stated that mediation was very effective in the resolution of knotty conflicts, while pleading that the ongoing dialogue process between top officials of the Federal Government and Niger Delta militants/leaders should be sustained.

    He noted that while government was seeking solutions to all the challenges in the Niger Delta, all parties should sheathe their swords,  show good faith and respect for one another, declaring that no meaningful development would take place in an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy.

    Ogbeifun added that the pronouncements of the Federal Government’s top officials on the setting up of modular refineries in the Niger Delta and the open confession that the crude oil and gas-rich region deserved a better deal, showed that there were still honourable men in the corridors of power in Nigeria.

  • Man docked for N50,000 theft

    A Lugbe Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday remanded a 30-year-old man, Steven Daniel, in prison for alleged stealing N50, 000 and phones valued N31, 500.  Daniel, who lives in Tunwade village Lugbe, Airport Road Abuja, is arraigned for theft.

    The judge, Mr Garba Ugbede, said the defendant should be remanded in Kuje Prisons until May 12. Earlier, the prosecutor, Ndidi Ukoha, told the court that one Eze Maxwell of the same address reported the matter at Lugbe police station on April 20.

    Ukoha said that on April 20, the defendant went into the complainant’s compound at Tundwade village and stole two Itel phones worth N31, 500
    belonging to Maxwell and one Monica Lortyer. She also told the court that Daniel stole N50, 000 belonging to one Happiness Maxwell of the same address.

    The prosecutor said during police investigations, all effort to recover the stolen items proved abortive. Ukoha said the offence contravened section 288 of the Penal Code.

    Daniel pleaded not guilty to the charge, and further hearing in the case was fixed for May 12.

  • Guard jailed six years for N1.8m theft

    After 17 months in detention, a guard, Musa Jubril, was yesterday sentenced to six and half years imprisonment by an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court for N1.8million theft.
    Magistrate A. T. Omoyele found Jubril guilty of breaking into his employer’s room and stealing items worth N1.8 million.
    She said the verdict took effect from November 12, 2015, when Jubril was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and burglary.
    Jubril was granted N250,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, when he was arraigned but he never met the conditions. So, he remained in custody until the trial ended.
    Magistrate Omoyele found Jubril guilty on two of the three – count charge.
    She sentenced him to three years imprisonment for stealing on count two and three-and-a-half years imprisonment for burglary on count three. The sentence would run concurrently.
    Prosecuting Sergeant Cyriacus Osuji, who reviewed the facts of the case, said the convict committed the offences around 10pm on July 10, 2015, at 20, Dapo Solanke Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
    He said Jubril was a security guard in the house of the complainant, Mr and Mrs A. O. Lasebikan, but he broke into the apartment and stole his employers valuables.
    According to the prosecutor, the items were four units of plasma television, a home theatre sound system, a pair of shoes and gold jewellery, all valued at N1.8m.