Four men were on Wednesday arraigned before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court for allegedly damaging the windscreen, side glasses and rear lights of cars in Apapa.
The men namely, Habeeb Moshood (21), Shola Olabimpe (20), Yusuf Adewale (20) and Elijah Omogbo (19) are facing a seven-count charge of conspiracy, fighting, threat, possession of offensive weapons and wilful damage.
The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gabriel Ekundayo, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on June 24, 2019 at about 11am at Ago-Hausa Street, Ajegunle, Apapa.
“The defendants conspired together with others at large with intent to intimidate the general public, threatened to damage vehicles and residential houses and shops with cutlasses, sticks, broken bottles, knives, etc.
“They unlawfully assembled and conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause fear to the neighbourhood by fighting, throwing bottles on passersby, striking the ground with cutlasses,” Ekundayo said.
The prosecutor also said that the defendants were found armed with dangerous weapons such as broken bottles, sticks, knives and other offensive weapons in the public without authority.
Ekundayo added that the defendants wilfully and unlawfully damaged all the right side glasses of one Nissan Primera car with registration number EPE 118 CU valued at N80,000 property of one Okoh Happy and also damaged the front windscreen and the two rear lights of one Skoda car with registration number RX 523 AAA valued at N90,000 property of one Moses Thomas.
According to him, the offences are punishable under sections 412, 56(1)(a), 54, 44(4), 51, and 350 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
Magistrate Nurudeen Layeni granted the defendants bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties each in like sum.
The sureties are required to furnish the court with evidence of tax payment to Lagos State Government and pay N10,000 into the Chief Registrar’s account.
One of the sureties should be an Imam or a Pastor.
He adjourned the case till July 24, 2019 for mention.