An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded a 24-year-old painter, Michael Okafor, in Kirikiri Custodial Centre for allegedly robbing a woman of her bag containing valuables worth N1.4 million at gunpoint.
The Magistrate, Mrs O.A Aderibigbe, who did not take the plea of the defendant, ordered that the case file be returned to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Aderibigbe adjourned the case till February 2 for mention.
The defendant, whose address was not provided, is being tried for conspiracy, robbery and stealing.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Mojirade Edeme, told the court that Okafor and others yet to be apprehended, committed the offence on Nov. 19 at Alausa, Ikeja.
She said that they robbed one Mrs Joy Ameh of her valuables.
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“The defendant stole two Samsung android phones valued at N180, 000, jewelries worth N500,000 and N700,000 cash, totaling N1.38 million.
“Four international passports were also stolen from the complainant,” she said.
Edeme said that the defendant and his accomplices accosted the complainant when she alighted from a car, pointed a gun at her and ordered her to surrender her bag.
“The defendant and his friends commanded the complainant to give them her bag or get killed.
“She quickly handed over her bag to them and they all took to their heels.
“The complainant reported the case to the police, one of the phones was tracked, leading to the arrest of the defendant,” she said.
According to the prosecutor, the offence violated sections 287, 297 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that section 287 attracts three years’ imprisonment for stealing, while section 297 prescribes 21 years for armed robbery.
(NAN)
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