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Tag Arraignment

Judiciary

Benue Police Command arraigns 2 men over alleged cattle rustling

NAN-H-19

Rustling

Dorathy Aninge

Makurdi, April 13, 2017 (NAN) The Benue Police Command on Thursday arraigned two persons, Pius Iwar and Dooior Orawase, over criminal conspiracy, theft and cattle rustling.

The duo, of no fixed address, appeared before a Makurdi Magistrate’s Court.

According to the police prosecutor, Mr Adama Owochio, the accused persons were arrested by a team of policemen, who were on patrol along Jato-Aka Adikpo road in Benue, on April 1, 2017.

“As at the time of arrest, the accused persons were conveying two cows in the booth of a car.

“When the security men checked, the cows were found dead; when asked how they came about the cows, they could not give a satisfactory answer.

“During police investigation, the accused persons confessed that the cows destroyed their cassava and yams valued at N400,000.”

He quoted them as saying that they pursued the cows, caught two of them and tied them to a tree which resulted into their death.

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.

The prosecutor told the court that investigation into the matter was still in progress and prayed the court for an adjournment, after explaining that the offence contravened sections 97, 321 and 208 of the Penal Code of Benue State 2004.

Counsel to the accused persons, Mr Silas Torwuam, applied for  their bail pursuant to section 341 (2) (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, pointing out that the offence was bailable.

He promised that the accused would abide by the bail conditions.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Franca Yuwa, granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N50,000.00 each with a surety in like sum who must be a civil servant and resident in Makurdi.

Yuwa adjourned the case to May 16, 2017 for  mention. (NAN)

DAJ/OSA/ETS

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Edited by Shittu Obassa and Ephraims Sheyin

 

Judiciary

Man, 48, docked over dud cheque

 

NAN-H-88

Cheque

Dorathy Aninge

Makurdi, April 7, 2017 (NAN) A 48-year-old man, Stephen Sunday, alleged to have issued a dud cheque for N4.3 million to a Cooperative Society in Oturkpo in Benue, appeared before a Makurdi Magistrate’s Court, on Friday.

According to the prosecutor, Mr Adama Owochio, the accused, a resident of Makurdi, had collected N3.5 million loan from Bristol Investment Cooperative Society Limited, Oturkp, at a 20 per cent interest.

The loan was expected to be paid within one month.

“The loan period expired on July 19, 2016 without payment and one Mr E. O. Samson petitioned the Commissioner of Police on the matter on Feb. 28, on behalf of the cooperative society.

“In the petition, Sunday was accused of issuing a Zenith Bank cheque for N4,291,896, to the cooperative society on Feb. 7.

“It further said that when the cheque was presented at the bank, it was returned on the ground that the accused account had no such money,” he said.

Owochio said that the accused person was subsequently arrested and, during investigation, confessed to the crime.

The plea of the accused person was not taken but his counsel, Abah James, applied for his bail.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Franca Yuwa, granted the accused bail in the sum of N100,000 with a fit surety in like sum.

Yuwa ruled that the surety must be resident in Makurdi, and adjourned the case till April, 13 for further hearing. (NAN)

DAJ/EMO/ETS

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Edited by Ejike Obeta and Ephraims Sheyin

 

 

Judiciary

Court remands 3 `good Samaritans’ over alleged murder

NAN-H-52

Murder

By Martha Nuhu

Jos, April 5, 2017 (NAN) A Jos High Court has remanded three men – Tasiu Mohammed, 21, Saidu Mohammed, 19, and Umar Shehu, 23 – in Jos prison, over the alleged murder of their `guest’.

The suspects, all of Bukuru, in Jos, who are facing a four-count charge of conspiracy, robbery, theft and culpable homicide, were also alleged to have stolen their victim’s money after killing him.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Justice Rifkatu Sha ordered the remand after the prosecutor, Mr J. I. Mantu, prayed the court for time to enable the ministry of justice take over the matter from the police.

Mantu, of the Plateau Ministry of Justice, told the court that he had been instructed by the Attorney General (AG) of the State, to take over the matter, relying on section 211 of the 1999 constitution, which gave power to the AG to institute criminal proceedings in any court.

Sha, after listening to his plea, ordered the remand of the accused persons and adjourned the matter to May 23, for definite hearing, while the case file was handed over to the AG.

NAN reports that the accused persons were first arraigned on Feb. 13., 2017 and had since pleaded not guilty to the crime.

The police prosecutor, Mr O. S. Osho, had told the court that the accused persons committed the crime on Sept. 23 2016, at about 8 p.m. in Clark Quarters, Bukuru, Jos.

Osho, during the arraignment, told the court that the accused persons had told the police in a confessional statement that they killed the deceased, who approached them for help.

In the statement, the accused persons were quoted as saying that the deceased, who came into Jos at about 7 p.m. on the said date, approached them to direct him to where he could lodge for the night, and continue his journey the mext day.

The statement indicated that the accused persons offered to assist, but diverted the victim to an uncompleted building and killed him, when they realised that he had money on him.

The prosecutor alleged that after killing their victim, the trio dumped his body in a well cited at the uncompleted building, and made away with his money.

Osho further quoted the accused as admitting that luck, however, ran out on them when a woman, resident in the quarters, heard screams emanating from the building, and decided to check.

The accused persons, according to the statement, ran out of the building on sighting the woman, but she went in and saw splashes of blood around the well and decided to check further.

“The curious woman saw a corpse of the unknown man dumped in the well and raised an alarm.

“The matter was promptly reported to the community head and the woman mentioned the names of the persons she had met fleeing from the scene.”

The prosecutor said that the identity of the deceased was still unknown as no form of identification was found on him, while his corpse was not claimed by any one.

Another twist was also introduced into the matter when the prosecutor alleged that the first accused, Tasiu Mohammed, had committed a similar crime sometime in 2014, when he was 18 years old.

Osho told the court that Mohammed was tried as a juvenile and was found guilty and convicted for murder.

He said that Mohammed, however, escaped from the juvenile home after some months and relocated to Abuja and had just relocated back to Jos, when he committed the same crime and was re-arrested.

The prosecutor stated that the trio’s action contravened the provision of section 221 of the Penal Code and was punishable with death, on conviction. (NAN)

ADY/ETS
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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

Judiciary

Cobbler arraigned for indecent treatment of child

NAN-H-40
Cobbler
By Boboye Moronke
Lagos, Feb. 1, 2017 (NAN) Kingsley Philip, a 20-year-old cobbler, was on Wednesday brought before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court over alleged sexual assault of his neighbour’s five-year-old daughter.

The accused is standing trial for indecent treatment of a child.

He, however, entered a plea of `not guilty.’

Police Prosecutor Clifford Ogu told the court that the accused, who resides at 18, Jimoh Road, Idimu, a suburb of Lagos, committed the offence on Jan. 20 at his residence.

Ogu said the accused called the minor into his room, removed her pants and fingered her.

“The victim’s mother got to know when there was some discharges in her private part and took her to the hospital.

“The victim told her mother that it was `uncle’ that touched her private part.” 

The offence contravened Section 135 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 and carries a penalty of seven years imprisonment.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case to Feb. 20 for mention. (NAN)

MTO/DOE/DA
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Edited by Dianabasi Effiong/Dele Akinsola