Judiciary
A 19-year-old unemployed man, Ibrahim Bala, charged with illegal possession of a pistol and attempted robbery, was on Thursday in Lagos remanded at the Kirikiri Prisons by an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.
The magistrate, Mr J.A. Adegun, did not take the plea of the defendant.
Adegun ordered that the defendant should be kept behind bars, pending the receipt of legal advice from the Office of the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Bala, a resident of Okokomaiko, Lagos, is being tried for conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms and attempted robbery.
The Prosecutor, ASP Clifford Ogu, had told the court that the defendant, and others still at large, committed the offences on July 7 at Okokomaiko, Lagos.
He said that the defendant unlawfully had in his possession a pistol and attempted to rob bus passengers.
“The defendant and his gang boarded a bus under the pretext of going to Okokomaiko, and on the way, they brought out a gun, commanding other passengers to surrender their valuables.
“But luck was against them as there was a naval officer in the bus, who intercepted their action.
“The officer snatched the gun from the defendant and others escaped by jumping down from the bus.
“The defendant was then handed over to the Police,’’ the prosecutor said.
Ogu said the offences violated Sections 299, 330 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Section 299 attracts 21 years imprisonment for robbery, while Section 330 prescribes a seven-year jail term for illegal possession of arms and ammunition.
The case was adjourned until Sept. 4, for mention. (NAN)
_AUG 08, 2019 @13:26 GMT |
Tags: (19) attempted robbery remanded over illegal possession of pistol unemployed
