Musician charged with stealing phones and laptops

Musician charged with stealing phones and laptops

Muhammed Lawal, a 22-year-old musician, was charged with stealing phones and laptops on Monday in the Upper Area Court Gwagwalada, FCT.

Criminal trespass and theft are the charges against Mr. Lawal, who lives in Abuja’s Gwako village Gwagwalada.

The complainant, Ibrahim Danjuma of the Yoruba Mosque Gwako village Gwagwalada, Abuja, reported the incident to the police on May 14, according to the prosecution’s attorney, Abdullahi Tanko, who testified in court.

According to Mr. Tanko, an unidentified person broke into the complainant’s room and stole three items: a Dell laptop worth N31,500, an Itel A56 phone worth N29,500, and the complainant’s unspecified HP laptop.

Other things taken from the home, he continued, included an Itel tiny phone for N6000, a charger worth N1,500, a memory card worth N3,500, a stabilizer at N3,500, a Philips pressing iron worth N5,300, a bedsheet worth N4700, a half-bag of rice worth N13,500, and a tracking fee around N20,000.

He added that the defendant was found using the A56 phone and that the entire value of the stolen goods was N99,200.

Sections 286 and 342 of the Penal Code were violated, according to the prosecutor.

The accused entered a not-guilty plea.

Onekutu Idenyi, the defense attorney, asked the court in an oral motion to give bail to his client in the most lenient terms possible.

In support of his request for bail, Mr. Idenyi referenced provisions 158, 161 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

If released on bail, the defendant will follow all bail requirements, according to him.

The defendant was granted a bail of N150,000 with one surety in the same amount by Judge Sani Umar.

Mr. Umar mandated that in addition to two current passport photos, the surety, who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, must also provide. According to him, the surety must present a photocopy of a legitimate form of identity.

In the event of a failure to appear, he advised that the defendant be kept in jail.

The case was postponed till a hearing on October 24 by Mr. Umar.

(NAN)