An Apapa Magistrate’s Court sitting at Agbo Malu Road, Apapa, Lagos has sentenced two traders in Lagos to eight years imprisonment for buying stolen 32 tons of Aluminum Colls valued at N22,500,000.
The property belonged to Mr Oko Uchenna Anthony.
The convicts, Ikechukwu Ogbodo and Kenechi Anike who ply their trade at Mulero area of Ipaja Road, Agege, Lagos were sentenced and convicted by the Chief Magistrate, P.A . Adekomaiya after he found the convicts guilty in the two count charges preferred against them by the Police at the defunct Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS which is now known as Police Special Weapons and Tactical, SWAT located at Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island, Lagos during the trial spanning about seven years.
Adekomaiya, however, directed that the sentence would run concurrently.
Police prosecuting Counsel, CSP Charles Onwumere had told the court in the charge marked P/45/2016 that the Journey to jail started for the convicts on February 15, 2015, when they dishonesty received and purchased the 32 tons of Aluminum Colls from the truck driver who diverted the Colls the complainant hired him to convey to a customer in Kaduna State knowing full well that the Colls were stolen.
Onwumere informed the court that trouble started for the convicts when the complainant hired the truck driver now on the run to convey the N22.5m Colls from Lagos to a customer in Kaduna State but that the driver instead diverted the goods and sold it to the convicts and escaped.
Onwumere told the court that following the development, the complainant reported the incident to the police at the SWAT Command at Adeniji Adele, Lagos and that the police swung into action and traced the diverted Colls to the convicts’ shop at the Mulero area of Ipaja Road, Agege and arrested them.
Onwumere said the offences the convicts committed were punishable under sessions 409 and 326(1)(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the judgement, Chief Magistrate Adekomaiya said that the prosecution counsel has proven his case beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly sentenced the convicts to eight years imprisonment each on the two count charges without an option of fine but directed that the sentence would run concurrently.
