NAN-H-24
Tricycle
By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, Jan.17, 2017 (NAN) The police arraigned a 43-year-old driver, Bolaji Fase, on Tuesday for allegedly absconding with a tricycle valued at N750, 000.
The accused appeared before Magistrate A.A. Adesanya of an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on a three-count charge of unlawful conversion, stealing and malicious damage.
Fase, a resident of Agbado area of Lagos State, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was admitted to a bail of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
According to the prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, the accused committed the offences between June 20, 2016 and Jan. 12 at Iju-Ishaga in Lagos State.
He said that the accused collected a tricycle on a hire- purchase value of N750,000 from one Mr Femi Orabeje.
“The accused obtained a new tricycle from the complainant on a hire-purchase value of N750,000 with an agreement that he will be remitting N15,000 every week to the complainant.
“Immediately, the accused got the tricycle, he disappeared with it to an unknown destination.
“All efforts made by the complainant to either retrieve the money or the tricycle from the accused proved unsuccessful as the accused refused to pick calls made to his cell phone,” he said.
Nwosu said that the accused was, however, found after a thorough search for him lasting six months.
When the complainant demanded the key to the tricycle, the accused destroyed the tricycle, the prosecutor said.
“The accused destroyed the tricycle’s three tyres, its engine and the general body, all valued at N286,000 to repair,” he said.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 278, 285 and 384 and of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 278 stipulates a three-year jail term for an offender found guilty .
Adesanya adjourned the case to Feb.16 for mention.(NAN)
DOA/OSA/PAD
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Edited by Shittu Obassa, Peter Dada