Dismissed police officer arraigned for burgling Jonathan’s house

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Abuja in Tuesday arraigned Musa Musa, one of the three Police Officers who was dismissed from service for burgling the house of the former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

The dismissed Police Sergeant was among the three who burgled Jonathan’s house at No. 89 Fourth Avenue, Gwarimpa District, Abuja and stole items such as, sets of furniture, plasma television sets, refrigerators, air-conditioner units and box-loads of clothes such as designer suits imprinted with the former president’s name, male and female Ijaw traditional attires, lace materials and bowler hats, valued at N30 million.

Musa who was arraigned before a Chief Magistrate court in Wuse, Abuja pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by Chief magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello in the sum of N7 million with a surety in the like sum.

The Chief Magistrate, after hearing arguments by respective counsels, held that there was nothing placed before the court by the prosecution, Stanley Nwodo to warrant the denial of the bail of the accused person.

The purpose of bail, she explained, which is the constitutional right of an accused person, is to ensure his presence in court to stand his trial adding however that, “If there are reasons that an accused person will jump bail, then the court will exercise its discretion against him by denying him bail.

“In the instant case, though the prosecution opposed the bail application on the ground that the accused had earlier jumped bail, he did not place supporting materials before the court to warrant the court deny the accused person bail.

“Until the court is sufficiently satisfied and convinced by available materials placed before it to deny the bail of the accused person, his right to bail must not be denied.

“There are no materials before the court to support the submission by the prosecution that the allegations of House breaking, mischief and theft contrary to sections 358, 326 and 288 of the Penal Code Law, Cap 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963, is of national importance and national security.

“In the absence of such evidence before the court, the accused person should be tried strictly on the basis of the allegations against him.” the Chief Magistrate ruled.

In granting the bail application, the court held that, the accused person must provide a surety who must be a civil servant of any grade with easily identifiable contact place in Abuja.

After the short ruling, Chief Magistrate Bello adjourned the matter till October 3rd 2017.

The First Information Report (FIR) against the dismissed officer dated August 8, 2017 reads: “The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command is informed that you, Musa Musa ‘M’ a dismissed police officer on or before the 5th July, 2017 unlawfully broke into the residence of former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, situate at Gwarimpa within the jurisdiction of this court and stole all the internal fittings, furnitures, cloth, electrical fittings, water heaters, kitchen shelf, wardrobes, refrigerators, doors and went further to steal canopies and hide same in the premises valued at N30 million  belonging to the former president and thereby committed the above mentioned offences.”

Tribune Online checks revealed that the three mobile police officers had allegedly carried out a systematic looting over a period of three months beginning from around March 2016, until they totally stripped the house of all movable items, which they sold piecemeal to dealers at Panteka second-hand materials market at Tipper Garage, Gwarimpa.

The looting was discovered when a neighbour noticed “severe damage in the house” and called a member of President Jonathan’s family to ask whether the house was undergoing renovation.

The former President was said to have personally gone to inspect the property after which he reported the vandalism to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. “After a team of officers dispatched to the scene confirmed the crime, Mr Idris was said to have ordered the arrest of the three police officers who were still on guard duty at the residence.