Detectives in Lagos State have arraigned a sales agent before a magistrates’ court for allegedly stealing jewelry worth N2.5 million.
The suspect, the 27-year-old Aisha Ishola, is the sales manager with a textile shop on Martins Street, Lagos Island.
The jewelry, according to the prosecutor, belongs to a businessman identified as Afeez Oshodi Glover. The police at Lion Building Division, Lagos Island, arrested the accused following a complaint by Glover.
Ishola was charged before the Igbosere Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on a two-count charge of stealing. Police counsel, Chinedu
Njoku, told the court that Ishola committed the offence on May 18, at Martins Street, Lagos Island.
Njoku informed the court that the complainant reported that he bought some textile materials from the accused and entrusted it in her care with 121.2 grams of gold to help him send it to a customer in the United States by courier, but the accused stole the jewelry and sent only the textile materials to the recipient.
Njoku further told the court that during investigation, Ishola insisted that she sent all the items to the recipient in the U.S.A, but when the police led the accused to the courier company that sent the items, it found that the jewelry was not listed in the manifest.
He said the offences the accused committed were punishable under sections 411 and 287(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Ishola, however, pleaded not guilty.
Chief Magistrate Folashade Botoku granted her N200,000 bail with two sureties in like sum. Botoku adjourned the case till 14 July for mention.
She ordered that the defendant be kept at the Lion Building Division in compliance with the COVID-19 protocols till she perfected the bail conditions.
Meanwhile, Justice L.N. Oweibo of Federal High Court, Ikoyi, yesterday convicted and sentenced Captain Peter Okomi to three years imprisonment. Also convicted and sentenced was his company, Moyitok Nigeria Ltd and a vessel, M.V. Agbeke, for illegally dealing in petroleum products.
The convicts were prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on three-count charge to which they pleaded guilty, following their arrest by officers of the Nigerian Navy and subsequent hand over to the EFCC for investigation and prosecution.
One of the charges read: “M.V. Agbeke, Moyitok Nigeria Limited, and Peter Okomi, on the 21st day of January, 2020, in Lagos, without appropriate license, dealt in 100 metric tonnes of Automative Gas Oil (AGO) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3 (6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act, Cap. M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and punishable under Section 1 (17) of the same Act.”
Upon their guilty pleas, Justice Oweibo convicted and sentenced Okomi to one year imprisonment on each of the three counts, which run concurrently. He also ordered the forfeiture of the vessel, MV Agbeke and the 100 metric tonnes of diesel recovered from it to the Federal government of Nigeria, and directed the EFCC to collaborate with relevant government or non- governmental agency to sell the vessel and the petroleum product on board the vessel within a reasonable time and remit the proceeds into Consolidated Revenue Funds.
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